The Journey's End
by Yva J
Summary: Sarah has forgotten the Labyrinth, her friends, and Jareth. Through an amazing turn of events, she must take another journey to recapture what might have been and what could be.
1. Prologue: Broken Silence

_This story is my very first 'Labyrinth' story, although not my first fan fiction. I recently got into the movie and the fandom and have become an instant Jareth / Sarah fan. I truly hope that my writing in this universe does the movie some semblance of justice, as I truly do love it. This story does hold similarities to the story I wrote several years back for the 'Chronicles of Narnia' called 'The Road Home', but although the premise of that story and this one are similar, these are two vastly different stories and I am starting from scratch here. I am hopeful that if you have read the other story that you won't be put out with the hospital premise being written again. It will be vastly different from the other story, that much I can assure you.  
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_I love revivews and am very encouraged by them. Since I am a new writer in this universe, I am hopeful that you will give this story a go, and will enjoy it. Thanks for reading._

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**The Journey's End**

By: Yva J.

**Prologue: Broken Silence**

Sarah Williams had forgotten everything that had happened when she was fifteen-years-old. Her dreams and ideals had succumbed to a blank slate of jumbled thoughts and emotions. These images remained vague and locked away in her heart with no relief in sight.

They called this place a hospital, and her father and stepmother had insisted that it was the right place for her, but that was just before her twentieth birthday. Although an adult, she still lived with, trusted, and foolishly allowed her fate to be placed in their hands.

Perhaps all of this had come about because of Lydia. Her stepmother had insisted that something be done with her because she had 'supposedly' been poisoning her brother's mind with stories of the Labyrinth as well as the eccentric Goblin King, who ruled over it.

It seemed as though Lydia blamed Sarah for her son's strange ideas and behavior. Of course, Robert, their father, had initially insisted that Toby was just a fantasy-filled child who loved stories. He could not get enough of them, and rather like his elder sister, the toddler's mind was suddenly filled with thoughts of royalty, goblins, and high adventure.

Sarah had once considered that Toby had remembered far more of the time he had spent in the Underground than she might have surmised. Of course, Lydia considered it a philosophically evil story and in a last futile attempt, had used Sarah's mental state as a means in which to get her out of the house. It was clear to Sarah that her presence threatened the perfect family image, which Lydia had been trying so desperately to create.

There was no place left for Sarah in their lives, so instead of accepting her stories and fantasies, her family sent her here and left her to diminish away to nothingness. She was considered to be incapable of answering for herself, and her present state was far removed from where she might have been had she accepted the Goblin King's offered gift.

She raised her head and looked around the room, the white walls a constant reminder of what had been her only reality for close to ten years. Forgotten, with no place left in the world, she began to lose her mind. Now, at twenty-nine, she was a mere shadow of the brave and vibrant young girl she had once been.

Upon her return from the adventures in the Labyrinth, her existence was altered forever. She was no longer superficial and uncaring, she had learned the value of friendship as well as the loyalty and love of being an older sister. Yet the greatest lesson of them all was that she discovered the existence of love and how it came in the guise of many different faces. Alas, her young heart did not know or comprehend the depths of the Goblin King's love for her. That was ultimately her greatest tragedy, which she would regret until the moment she had forgotten all about Jareth.

In the beginning, she somehow believed that her coming here was a necessary sacrifice, which quickly evolved into another form of cruel punishment. Suddenly, she had been blocked from her dreams, they had ceased the moment she found herself locked away. Her dark brown hair had been cropped short, thus leaving her to feel like Samson in an old Bible story; powerless and weak. The power to conjure up her friends in the mirror was completely gone, the link to the Underworld irreparably severed.

The only image she beheld when looking in the flat metal object built into the wall of her lavatory was that of an old hag staring bleary-eyed back at her. At that moment, she ceased looking for anything except her decrepit reflection. This depicted her lost confidence as well as the faded memories of the dashing Goblin King.

She had forgotten everything about her adventure in the Underground. The fantasy, which remained in her heart had been sucked out of her as though water being sipped through a straw.

She merely existed.

Each day, a psychiatrist would enter her room as though a revolving door had been installed, one which she could not exit. Wordlessly the doctor would give her medications against depression and paranoia and watch as she dubiously swallowed them. For a long time, they would ask her questions and she would answer as though in a trance.

No one had physically harmed her in this place, but they treated her as though she was a fragile piece of china with no sense of direction. The doctors continued to insist that she remain there, but gave her no adequate responses to her wishes to leave. They would merely state that they would discuss it with her family. The answers were always the same, and she had grown weary from hearing them.

The more they balked, the more determined she was to try and leave. She was determined not to die here, but instead to find some semblance of what living was. What had once been considered a safe place, now prevented her from boldly moving forward. She was becoming terrified at what lie beyond the door, which led out of this place and into the real world.

It was to be expected as she had grown into adulthood forgetting about Hoggle, the cowardly dwarf whose loyalties always seemed to teeter back and forth because of his fear. About Ludo, the large rock caller, who wore the guise of a monster, but had a heart of gold. She had forgotten about Sir Didymus, a bold fox-like knight, who was, contrary to his stature, brave and daring as the day was long. She no longer recognized Ambrosias, who looked rather like the dog, Merlin, that she had as a child.

Of course, the one person she longed to recognize more than anything, was herself. Before the hospital had come along, she knew how she looked and what she aspired to be. Instead of going to college and becoming a writer and artist, she was blocked from allowing her fantasy to express itself on the pages of a book. She no longer aspired to play with costumes and toys or even be an actress as her mother had once been. Instead, she lived out her days drowning her sorrows in chocolate pudding and overcooked chicken casserole.

Where was her family? She asked herself almost constantly. It seemed abundantly clear that they no longer cared for her because the last time she had seen her brother was before she left, and the last time her father had been to visit was six months ago. Today, Toby was a teenager, almost the same age she had been when she had first encountered the Goblin King and conquered the Labyrinth.

If only she could remember.

Sarah was hurt, and that hurt ultimately made her decide to take a vow of silence. She did not wish to speak to anyone, nor did she want to know or understand why this had happened to her. All that she knew was that after all this time, if they did not have the answers they were seeking them she could not help them. This silence had gone on since her father's last visit, and countless doctors had tried with everything they could to break her resolve.

Ultimately, they failed until Doctor Peter Harlow had entered her life.

It had been three weeks since Peter had taken her case. Three weeks since he had come in and spoken with her about every topic under the sun. Each day, he would leave discouraged that he was not able to break through her determination.

On the day her silence wavered, she raised her head to see him entering the room, a white lab coat somehow flushing him into the same white walls she had grown accustomed to.

Peter was in his mid forties when he met Sarah and unlike many of his colleagues, he had not yet given up on her. In fact, his determination seemed to match her own.

He casually closed the door behind him as she watched warily as he breezed his way through the room. He was heading towards the plush styled white chair that was positioned at the head of her bed. Seating himself, his pulled a pair of gold framed spectacles from his pocket and put them on, thus concealing his brown eyes somewhat.

Just around those eyes, Sarah noticed the wrinkles that touched the skin, thus indicating that this man laughed and smiled rather frequently. She had noticed the gold band that encircled his left ring finger, thus indicating that he was married.

Dismissing these observations, she watched his every move. He had observed her weeks of silence and insubordination, but he never saw fit to forcing her to speak or threatening her. Instead, he told her about the field beyond his house where wild rabbits roamed and nibbled on the grass that grew there. He spoke of the latest movies that were playing at the cinema on music and programs that played on television. He tried to talk freely about anything that might snap her out of it. He kept this one sided dialogue light and easy going, as though a friend who was speaking with a coma patient.

She tried to shut out his words, but had discovered that she had failed, his stories were quite interesting, even if she did not wish to admit it.

His greeting ultimately broke into her thoughts.

"Hello Sarah," he spoke her given name as he always had done, his voice carrying an Irish accent and somehow embodying the chivalry of the times she used to fantasize about. It was strange, but this man never called her 'Miss Williams', like the other staff members did. He kept his words warm and informal.

Perhaps it was this strangeness that made her become curious about a doctor who was trying to be 'friendly'. At the same instance, she could not dismiss that he was doing his job and trying every possible tactic in getting her to speak.

Peter waited for her to reciprocate his greeting, but when she did not, he simply rested his hands in his lap as opposed to digging into his pocket for the pills that she had grown so accustomed to ingesting each day. Instead, he kept his hand away from the pocket and offered another cordial smile.

"You still don't wish to speak to me, do you?" He asked. "I know it was like that yesterday and the day before that. This seemed to trace back to the first day we met. But, you know, I can't help you if you don't trust me and perhaps that's why I'm here, to help you. But, Sarah I know that you are hurt and angry as that is what ultimately brings about silence."

Sarah turned away from the wall. Was he asking her to speak instead of demanding it? She took a deep breath and licked her lips as she stared at him, her green eyes level with his brown ones, but no words emerged.

"Will you trust me enough to tell me something? Anything?"

Sarah closed her eyes and lowered her head, but shook her head, the silent communication enough for her.

"What is it you want me to do for you?" He asked. This time instead of expecting her to say 'an extra portion of gelatin for dessert, or a bottle of soda water', he waited for something much more important to emerge.

Once it did, he could feel the relief filling him as he slowly exhaled.

"I want to go home, Doctor Harlow," she whispered, her voice faint and lifeless. "I have to get out of here before I die."

"You mean; you want to go back to your family?" He asked. "Is that it?"

"No!" Her voice emerged abruptly as she looked away from him as the words emerged a second time. "I want to go _home_."

"Where would that be, Sarah?" He asked. "Before you came here you were living with your family. They were the ones who sent you here, remember?"

"Yes, I know, but it was because I was expected to come, not because I wanted it," she whispered.

"Why expected?" He asked.

"I don't know." She looked at him, her eyes misting over. She watched as he started to dig in his lab coat for the pills, but her words abruptly stopped his intended action. "No more pills, I can't remember anything about my life if I'm drugged up all the time. I want to remember…I want to get out of here…I have to…"

Peter Harlow's eyes widened in surprise. Never, would a psychiatric patient have said something like that to him. In fact, her words quickly convinced him that she was just as sane as he was and her silence had been born from her family's rejection. Perhaps part of the reason she had been drugged up was because she had been wrongfully robbed of ten years of her life all the while and against her will, being forced into living in this place.

There was something so firm and defining in the manner, in which she had spoken, he thought, and this came as a complete surprise to him.

Instead of immediately responding, he nodded as he withdrew his hand. "If I can help you, then I will," he affirmed. "But, you have to remember your life, Sarah. Even the parts that hurt and are painful for you. Perhaps giving you this medication was wrong, but it was with the best of intentions that these pills were administered. I will request that they cease, but you need to talk about everything you can remember."

"I'll try," she whispered with an obedient nod. It was clear that she was relieved that he was not going to make her take another pill. Instead of simply turning away, her next words emerged barely audibly. "Thank you." she whispered, her gaze once more on the wall. For her this dialogue was over.

She remained in this stance until he had gotten to his feet and silently left the room. Once he was gone, she stared at the door, not really knowing why she had even spoken at all.

Where was 'home'? She asked herself. Why was she so convinced that there was a such a place in the world for someone like her?

Yet the biggest and scariest question that ravaged her mind was: 'Where could I go if Peter Harlow did fulfil his promise to help me to get out of here?'


	2. Chapter 1: Toby's Wish

_It would seem that this story is really starting to write itself. Please let me know what you think of it. As I said in the prologue, this is my very first Labyrinth story and I am really excited about writing it.

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**Chapter 1: Toby's Wish**

Toby Williams was furious. The fourteen-year-old boy simply did not know what to make of the things he had overheard. His parents rarely spoke of his half-sister Sarah, but when they did, it generally devolved into a shouting match.

He had come home from school that day after having gotten another 'C' in his math class. Half expecting his mother to lay into him for not getting a 'B' or better, she didn't say a word to him, which instead of making him feel any better, only made his anxiety mount.

Over supper, it was the same thing, he rarely glanced up from the peas and carrots that were still idly sitting on his plate. His parents seemed distracted by something and given the way they were hemming and hawing just before he had come down the stairs, he was able to guess specifically what they had been discussing, or better yet, whom they had been talking about.

Sarah.

His older sister was now an adult, and based on what his parents had told him throughout most of his life, she had moved to Europe to take up creative writing. The story had been put into motion, right down to them saying that she had married and her husband was a jerk who wanted nothing to do with their family. It was a lie that had seemed to work, until that day when the teenager's suspicions were raking havoc on his mind.

Toby had grown into a gangly teenage boy with this story literally engraved in his brain. Over time, he had boasted in school of his stylish older sister who lived on the other side of the globe. Of course, the question still remained: If Sarah had left home for Europe, why was her old bedroom still as it was before she had left?

Sighing, he continued to stare down at his food. He hated peas and no matter how many times he had told his mother, she always seemed to serve them anyway. He could recall how as a small child, he would feed them to the family dog, Merlin. After the sheepdog had died, Toby tried to ask his mother if he could buy a chameleon. One of his friends at school had one, and he thought they were utterly cool. He had seen the animal change colors and blend in with the environment and thought that it was totally awesome. Somehow he related to that, especially given how the adults tended to ignore him anyway.

At any rate, Toby had, for some unexplainable reason, always had a fascination with reptiles, but given his mother's freaked out attitude at his request, he figured that he would have to wait until he was eighteen to get one. Her answer had, as he half expected, been a shrill scream of 'absolutely not'.

He continued to move the peas around, this time unconsciously using them to make faces on the small mound of mashed potatoes that were snuggled up next to them.

After several moments, the teenager was pulled abruptly out of his reverie when his mother's stressed out voice filled the room. "Toby, would you stop playing with your food and eat?" She brushed an impatient hand through her short blonde hair before continuing. "I swear; you are as bad about doing that as Sarah used to be."

The boy raised his head at the mention of his sister. He could only vaguely remember her, mostly from the stories she used to tell him about the Labyrinth. In fact, for whatever reason, that place stayed implanted in his mind long after Sarah's appearance and characteristics faded from his consciousness. Taking a deep breath, he looked at his parents.

"Did a letter come or something?" He asked, his voice sounding hopeful. "I mean; we haven't heard anything from her in ages and I was sort of hoping..."

"…Toby, your sister hasn't written, and chances are, she won't," Lydia said sternly. "You might as well get that idea out of your head right here and now."

The teenager shook his head. "I can't, Mom, she's my sister."

Instead of responding, Lydia stood up and started to make her way towards the kitchen. Her steps were brusque as she disappeared into the adjoining room. Once she was gone, he looked at his father, who was no longer looking at him, but instead staring off into space with an almost guilty expression shadowing his face.

Seeing this did not help Toby's mood in the slightest, especially after overhearing his parents arguing about Sarah after he had come home from a lousy day at school. He was so looking forward to spring break, but if it meant that he would have to spend it here in a house filled with stony silence, he concluded that it would drive him crazy.

This whole charade was starting to aggravate him to death and no matter what the circumstances had been, he knew two things; he was not a baby anymore, and he did not need his parents trying to play the great protectors with him. After all, here he was fourteen-years-old, and was now starting to think that maybe he did not know the truth about his sister at all.

Sighing, he looked over at his dad, his voice soft as he addressed Robert. "Dad, Sarah is not married and living in Europe, is she?"

"No," Robert said as he turned his head and looked at his son.

"Then where is she?" He asked simply.

"What do you remember about your sister, Toby?" Robert countered. He did not seem willing to answer the question just yet as he was clearly using an evasive maneuver on his only son. It was more than clear that Robert was curious about the answer since Toby had been only four-years-old when Sarah had left home.

"I remember that she told great stories," Toby began.

"Yes, about those stories," Robert said and paused. "Your mother and I don't think you should be reading them."

"Why not?" Toby asked. "I mean; they're just fantasy."

"I know, but we think that they are ethically wrong," Robert said.

"Dad, just because I read about jousting and high adventure, doesn't mean I'm going to slay my algebra teacher," Toby argued. "Besides, they are the only thing that I can actually remember about Sarah. You and Mom seem to frown on me remembering anything else about her. Do you want me to hate her just as much you both do?"

"We don't hate her, Toby, but I do think we owe you the truth," Robert said simply. "Your question deserves an answer. Sarah is not in Europe like we told you."

"Alright, then where is she?"

"I'll tell you but I have another question," Robert said. "Do you know what 'power of attorney' is?"

"Sure, that's when a grown up gives their rights over to someone else because they are not of sound mind or not able to take care of themselves. It's something like that, right?" When Robert nodded, he continued. "I mean; we talked about it in school when this lawyer guy did a lecture at the 'career week' assembly. Why?"

"When Sarah was nineteen, she gave over her power of attorney to your mother and I. We didn't tell you about this because you were too young to understand what it all meant. Basically, we took it upon ourselves to take care of Sarah. We felt that if we had told you where specifically she was, it would have made things more difficult for you."

"So you made up the Europe story, right?" Toby asked.

"Toby, we both know that you loved your sister, and I am certain that she loves you very much as well," Robert said.

"That doesn't make much of a difference, does it?" Toby said plainly. "You and Mom still lied to me about her, and made me think that she had abandoned us."

"We didn't exactly lie, we had intended on telling you about this when you got older," Robert said.

"So, is that why you and Mom were fighting earlier when I came home?" He asked.

"You heard that?" Robert asked.

"I think the neighbors three streets over heard it, Dad," he said. "When mom gets upset, she screams and yells like a lunatic."

Robert took a deep breath upon hearing his son use the word 'lunatic' as freely as he did. Perhaps it was his young age that propelled that particular choice of words. At any rate, he took a deep breath and regarded his son. "Toby, nearly ten years ago, we decided that it was best for your sister to go into treatment at Rosehill Medical. She's been there for close to a decade, and we don't think she's going to make a full recovery."

"You mean, you sent her to a psycho ward?" Toby asked hotly. "Just like that."

"Well, it was a tough decision," Robert said.

"Okay, so why did you and Mom argue about her today?" The teenager asked.

"Her treating doctor, Peter Harlow, called here this afternoon and spoke with your mother. He wanted to discuss with us the option of Sarah being released," Robert said sadly. "He seemed to think that the place was doing Sarah more harm than good…"

"…He's probably right," Toby groused as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I remember when I had my appendix operation and how depressed I was at the hospital and I was only there for two days. It's gotta be a whole lot worse for Sarah because she's been there for ten years."

"Yes, we know, and the world she's eventually going to return to is going to be a great deal different then the one she left behind," Robert said softly. "That is if your mother and I think that she is ready to take this step. Unfortunately, neither of us do."

Toby got to his feet and looked at his father from across the table. "So, you and Mom have basically decided to keep her there and not help her at all, right? All this time I thought that you guys were the greatest as far as parents go, but now I don't even want to contemplate what you would do to me if I ever screwed up." He made his way over to the door leading out of the room. As he did, his mother came out of the kitchen to hear his parting words. "You'd probably lock me up in a psycho ward too if I decided to start listening to grunge music and refuse to clean my room."

Ignoring the stricken look that crossed his mother's face, Toby left the room and raced up the stairs, all the while practically stumbling over his own two feet.

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As he reached the landing, he quietly made his way down the hall towards Sarah's old bedroom. Halfway there, he stopped just outside his own room and took a deep breath. Angry tears were caught beneath his eyes and he wiped his hands over his cheeks, thus smearing the moisture away.

He pulled the door open and went into the room. In haste, he slammed the door as hard as he could, leaving a vibration resonating throughout the house. Furiously, he went over and threw himself across the bed, his thoughts literally racing. This was far more than just a teenager dealing with a hormonal issue, he was absolutely livid with his parents. "What happened to unconditional love?" He questioned the stillness.

Eventually he moved towards the edge of the bed and turned on the radio. Classic Rock music filtered through the room as his favorite station sounded in his ears. Sliding off the bed, he walked over to the desk, and stared for several minutes outside through the window. From where he was standing, he could not see the silhouette of a white barn owl perched just to the left of his window.

Keeping the radio turned on, but the volume lowered so as to not annoy his parents, he got up and crept silently to the door that led out into the hallway. The corridor seemed silent, but he pressed his ear against the still closed door and listened for the sounds that might resonate from beyond it.

He guessed that both his parents were back in the kitchen doing the dishes and talking about his outburst. Feeling secure in that fact, he opened the door just a crack and stuck his head around the door and into the empty hallway.

Waiting several moments, he took a deep breath as he crept silently from his room and closed the door softly behind him. With padded steps, he made his way in the direction of Sarah's old bedroom.

Let them think that he was sitting in his room listening to music as opposed to sneaking into his sister's vacated room.

He knew that if his parents caught him nosing around in her room again, they would have a fit, but at that point, he simply did not care. They had lied to him about Sarah, and his father's words did very little to soothe his troubled mind. In fact, the only feeling he had was that of anger and sadness at the fact that he had missed out on having an older sister around for most of his life.

Now, he knew beyond any doubt that the only thing he could do was go into her room and try and find out why it was their parents had knifed her in the back like they did. Maybe he would find a telephone number of an earlier friend of hers and could call then and ask.

Why did it have to be that Toby could only remember the vague stories she used to tell? Did they have something to do with why his sister was sent away? It seemed a rather silly reason to him, but then again, being the rebellious teenager that he had become, these questions seemed perfectly natural.

He reached the door to her room and opened it. Slipping silently inside he gently closed the door and went over to the vanity table and sat down. He raised his head only briefly and beheld his reflection in the mirror.

His hair had darkened considerably as he had grown up. Gone were the babyish locks of blond hair and in its place, he had wavy brown hair that somehow refused to cooperate, no matter how much hair gel he used. He ran his hand through the hair as he stared at the miserable reflection that stared back at him.

"Oh man," he whispered angrily under his breath. "I wish that there was someone, somewhere who could help me figure all of this out. If only all those stories _were_ true, and there really existed someone who could use magic or something help me find her."

His fists clenched unconsciously and he lowered his head, but continued speaking. "Oh God, I'd give anything to know what happened to my sister, and why all of this had to happen at all!"

As his words filtered through the stillness of the room, he raised his head to see that in the mirror there was movement. It was a brief fluttering of wings or something that was being reflected in from outside. He could not understand, but briefly turned away from the mirror only to see that the reflection had been real. A white colored barn owl was flapping its wings madly against the window. It was as though it was somehow trying to get inside.

A sudden clap of thunder filled Toby's ears as the light of the room suddenly flickered off, then on, then off again. He took a deep breath. "Oh great, another power failure. Now Mom's gonna really have a cow."

He got to his feet, with the intention of leaving the room in search of a flashlight, but not before he cast a final glance into the mirror.

What he saw reflected there, made his heart catch in his throat and all he was capable of doing, was to stare.


	3. Chapter 2: A Strange Visitor

_Please let me know what you think of this. Did I characterize Jareth okay? I really would like some feedback here because I need to know if I'm on the right track here. With Toby, it's pretty easy, but with Jareth, it's much harder because I want him to be as accurate as possible, and since he has a defined persona, I don't want to push the envelope with him. Oh and Miss Anonymous, I've been writing fan fiction for close to 15 years, but Labyrinth is a brand new universe for me.  
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_Thanks to all for the comments, they are greatly appreciated. :)  
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**Chapter 2: A Strange Visitor**

Toby said not a word, his eyes seemed to give away the emotions that were trapped in his heart. Looming over him in his sister's old bedroom was a man, but not just any man, it was Jareth, the Goblin King from the Underground. He was indeed a majestic figure to behold, donned in blue and white with a sparkling crystal-like substance framing him like an aura.

The teenager stood, the fright literally enfolding and making him want to flee from the room. Even if he had chosen that option, this man would no doubt follow, and with such a stature as this, Toby was fully aware that he would not get far.

Instead of speaking, he merely stared at the daunting figure who stood before him. Never in his young life could he recall the entire story that his sister had told him. After all, he had been nothing more than a toddler back in those days. He somehow knew that if he were to contemplate this scenario more fully, then he would most assuredly conclude that this man had somehow emerged from the pages of said story.

It was at that precise moment that the teenager knew beyond any doubt that even if he wanted to, he could not simply run away. So he remained standing and staring at the intruder with unabashed fright and curiosity in his gaze.

"W-who are you?" He finally found his voice and managed to stammer as the man took a step towards him. The glitter that surrounded him, shimmered in the darkness of the room but did not vanish. Unconsciously, Toby took a step back, his body now plastered against the door, thus indicating that he was trapped in the room with Jareth. "W-what are you?"

For his part, the Goblin King stood, his mismatched eyes regarding the teenager in the same disinterested manner as they had initially done when Sarah had first encountered him that fateful night all those years ago. His gaze was now locked on Toby, never faltering, but hidden in his mind was an attempt at recognizing why it was this boy had summoned him and what powers he truly possessed.

Jareth ceased all movement, his blond hair hanging down, the strands framing a pale face. He was dressed in the same manner as he had been when he had met Sarah the very first time, the shimmering outfit somehow his trademark for Aboveground visitations.

"You should know the answer to that question for it is you who summoned me," Jareth said coolly.

"W-what do you mean?" Toby asked nervously.

Instead of answering the question, Jareth came closer to the teenager. When he reached him, he gripped the boy's chin in a gloved hand and looked down at him, his eyes seeking some form of recognition. When he saw nothing but fear in the boy's stance, he inhaled slowly, but spoke. "This is truly miraculous," he mumbled as he released his hold.

Silence descended on the room as Jareth waited for the teenager to say something.

Once he did, Toby regarded the Goblin King with unsuppressed anger at being manhandled is such a fashion. "What is…miraculous?" His question emerged, the tone of it meshed between that of fear, curiosity, and distrust.

"You are Toby Williams, correct?" Jareth asked.

"Y-yeah, but h-how did you know that?" Toby asked as Jareth suddenly heard footsteps emerging from down the hallway. Toby's inquiry faded as his father's voice could be heard in the distance.

"Toby, is everything alright?"

Before the teenager could so much as respond, Jareth produced a perfectly spherical shaped crystal. As the inquiry faded, Toby watched as the object rolled lackadaisically about in the Goblin King's hand.

"This is not a proper place for us to speak. There are too many interruptions here," Jareth said, his voice matter-of-fact.

He abruptly allowed the object to fall to the ground as he reached out and grasped the arm of Toby's t-shirt. Toby gasped when the familiar surroundings of his sister's room abruptly vanished.

After several moments had passed, he found himself suddenly teleported to the front entrance to the Labyrinth.

The teenager fearfully clamped his eyes closed as Jareth released his hold and stepped away from him. As the Goblin King was about to begin speaking, Toby's voice filled the area. "This c-can't be happening," he whispered as he began to pinch his upper arm in an futile attempt at waking from this elaborate dream. When he opened his eyes once again, he recognized that he was still in Jareth's company. It was then that he bit down on his lip, thus coming very close to drawing blood.

My goodness, the Goblin King thought mockingly, the boy truly is terrified. A smirk shadowed his lips as he regarded the youth, his arms, he crossed over his chest.

When Toby said nothing, he took a deep breath, he put those thoughts into words. "I cannot understand your fears, Toby, for it was you who summoned me," Jareth said calmly. "One would think that I do have more important things to do with my time than chase after strange inhabitants of the Aboveground."

"Aboveground?" Toby whispered as though entranced.

"You do not remember," Jareth mused, his voice somehow changing from mocking to inquisitive. "Did Sarah not tell you?"

"If she did, I don't remember," Toby said defiantly.

"You don't?" Jareth asked. "Does Sarah despise her experiences so much so that she would not even tell you of the power of a wish? Such a pity as it would explain pleanty."

"What are you talking about?" Toby asked angrily.

"You really do not know, do you?" Jareth asked.

"I don't know squat!"

"Squat?" Jareth asked.

"It means 'nothing'." The emotional response was out before he could even stop it. "Besides, I haven't seen my sister in almost ten years."

"Not even once?"

"No," Toby said, this time his voice was laced in misery. "If she forgot about this place, then maybe it was for the best, because if it were up to me, I'd want to forget about it, too."

"Why?" The Goblin King asked with disbelief laced in his words.

"Because it scares me, alright!" Toby practically shouted. "I mean; I was sitting in her room thinking about her, that's all, and then I prayed."

"Prayed?"

"Yeah, and after that, you showed up and scared the crap out of me…Now here I am, wherever 'here' is."

"You were just thinking and talking aloud then?" Jareth asked.

"Yeah."

"Nothing more?"

"No, nothing. So, why am I here anyway?" Toby responded, his voice more upset than he anticipated. He knew that part of his words emerged from the anger he felt towards his parents, but part of it was his fear in the knowing that Jareth was asking him all the right questions. The Goblin King's words somehow made him want nothing more than to cry his eyes out.

"What I mean is, your words were very clear, Toby, and what is said, is said," Jareth said calmly. "You cannot take them back."

"What words?" Toby asked.

Jareth conjured another crystal and Toby stared as the glass like object changed and he saw himself back in Sarah's room. His voice was cracking with emotion as his wish emerged: 'I wish that there was someone, somewhere who could help me figure all of this out. If only all those stories _were_ true, and there really existed someone who could use magic or something help me find her.'

Seconds later, the crystal vanished and Jareth regarded him. "Did you not see the power of the words 'I wish' or were you simply blubbering like a small child with a broken toy?"

"You heard what I said?" Toby eventually asked.

Jareth nodded. "Yes, I did." He kept his answer simple, although mocking words seemed to be right on the tip of his tongue.

"This is too weird," Toby muttered.

"Perhaps," the Goblin King responded. "Yet, I do believe that it might perhaps help matters if you were to speak to me and tell me what has happened."

"I'm not sure anymore. You said just now that you didn't have time to deal with this, so far be if for me to rob you of your valuable time," Toby said, all the while trying to match wits with Jareth. "Besides, even if you could help me, I'm not sure you would."

Jareth took a deep breath and nodded. Instead of commenting, his next question emerged. "Do you know where your sister is?"

Toby inhaled slowly as his words tumbled out. "I didn't know before, but I overheard my parents arguing and I found out later that they had lied to me about her. They said that she had gotten married and was living in Europe somewhere. I believed them and now I'm an idiot for thinking that that was ever the truth…" His voice trailed off as the angry tears once more penetrated beneath his eyes. "…It was all nothing more than a lie."

"What specifically did they tell you when you inquired?" Jareth asked.

"Mom was saying that Sarah was crazy, and Dad was trying to get her to be quiet. When I confronted him about it, he said that Sarah was in a special hospital. I had heard of this place, it's a real psycho ward," Toby said bitterly.

"A what?" Jareth asked.

"Y'know, a mental hospital, for people who are crazy in the head, but I know she's not crazy, I just know it," Toby said as he placed his hand over his heart. "It probably sounds stupid to you, but it's this feeling I have about her. It's been like that since as long as I can remember."

"What sort of place is this 'hospital'?"

"I don't know, I've never been inside," the boy admitted. "From what I hear it's like a prison, and my parents made her go there. They don't want to help her, though, they just wanted her out of their hair. It's like nobody wants her and now they are making her out to be like yesterday's garbage."

"There is a place where she is wanted and needed, though," Jareth said contemplatively. "That much you can believe, for it is here in the Underground. She does have friends here who miss her and love her dearly. In order for her understand that, she must remember everything that has happened."

"Wait a minute, are you saying that you actually know my sister?"

"I knew her once, yes. Sarah was young, strong, stubborn, and very brave. She was, perhaps the age that you are now when I first met her, but she was so lovely and such a precious thing," Jareth said. "Today, she is but a stranger to me. I do not know how she has changed, I can only ascertain through your words that she has."

Toby remained silent as the Goblin King's words washed over him. Somehow his voice was emerging in a more kind manner. The youth could not help but conclude that perhaps this man was going to curb it with his cruel and mocking words. "Do you understand, Toby? It was the power of your wish that brought me to you. But, there is a task at hand that must be brought to completion, if we are to help Sarah."

"What can I do, though?" Toby asked. "I'm just a stupid kid. You have magic and stuff; I have nothing."

"Perhaps," Jareth said impatiently. "You mustn't take your worth or value for granted, Toby. For, as it stands, my ties to Sarah have been severed, but it is said that anything broken can be unbroken. That is, it can be renewed, but only if she, herself, is willing. I have come to the realization that we must work together if we are to accomplish this particular task. You have the knowledge of the Aboveground, which could be quite advantageous in our pursuit. I have the sanctuary of the Underground, which could house her while she strives to remember."

As he spoke, Jareth produced another crystal, this one he balanced on his hand for several seconds before tossing it to Toby. As the object reached him, the teenager found himself holding a small red colored book. Labyrinth was the single word that graced the cover.

After reading the word, Toby shook his head as though in denial. "But this was just a story she used to tell me when I was little. When I got older, I found out that her copy had been burned. Probably by my mother. She always tried to protect me from everything, especially the unknown."

"I do not believe that you require this book," Jareth said with a shake of his head. As these words emerged, the book in Toby's hand vanished in a crystal cloud. "You must only try to remember the basis of the 'story'. Do you remember what happened in it?"

"I can't remember, and I know it sounds stupid, but I'm almost scared to." Came the teenager's response.

"Oh come now, the story is the key, Toby. If you cannot remember it, then you will never be able to help your sister," Jareth said. "Just look around you, this is the story, or in this case, it is a whole other story playing out, only this time, it is one that involves both you and Sarah."

"You mean; you're going to help me, is that what you're saying?" Toby asked. "I know that I said that I wished for someone who would help me find Sarah and then you appeared. Is that why you came?"

"Yes, but you must understand that I can only do so much," Jareth affirmed with a nod of his head. "My powers do have limits in the Aboveground, although I must admit that I have not yet tried to push the limits I have set for myself."

"What is the Aboveground exactly?" Toby asked.

"That is your world," Jareth said. "My world is the Underground."

"Are we really under the ground?" The teenager could not help but ask.

Jareth allowed his lips to curve upwards in a slight smile, but he shook his head. "In your fantasy stories, the Underground could be construed as another reality, which you have visited before."

"I was here?" Toby asked. "That's not possible. I mean; if I was, I'd remember. Right?"

"It would appear that your memories of it are vague," Jareth explained. "You were a fetching babe back then, Toby, always crying and making such a fuss. Yet, after a time you sat quietly on my lap with a crystal in your hand. One very much like this." As he spoke, a crystal appeared and balanced itself on the tips of his gloved fingers. "It showed me that you were destined for truly great things and that there existed a power manifest in you. The bond that exists between you and your sister is a very powerful one indeed."

"Who are you exactly? I mean; do you even have a name?" Toby asked.

"Jareth, I am the King that rules over the Goblin City."

"The Goblin King, like in the story?"

"Yes, as you can see, it is very real," Jareth said. "Just as I am real."

"What should I call you?" Toby asked humbly. "I've never met a king before."

Jareth looked at the teenager and allowed himself to smile. "You may call me Jareth."

Toby nodded as their surroundings faded. Instead of appearing back at Sarah's room as he half expected, they were now in his room. The music was still playing and although it seemed as though Toby and Jareth had been speaking for hours, barely any time had passed while they had conversed in the Underground.

He turned back around to see that Jareth had not left him alone, the Goblin King was now dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Perhaps he was wary about my parents interrupting again, Toby concluded as Jareth sat down at the desk, his stance making him appear more like a musician than royalty.

"What are we going to do?" Toby asked as he seated himself on the edge of the bed, his body lurched forward as his elbows rested against his knees.

"First thing tomorrow, we shall journey to where Sarah is," Jareth said. "And we will free her from those who keep her prisoner."

"But, I have school," Toby objected, all the while not certain if he was ready to trust Jareth.

"What is more important to you?" Jareth asked pointedly. "The gathering of knowledge seems rather superficial to me at the moment, It is rather like a beast harvesting nuts for the winter. We are speaking of you finding that one person whom you have not seen in ten years. I cannot search for her alone, Toby, I need your assistance if we are to find her."

"Well, when you put it that way," Toby mused. "What about my parents?"

"What about them?" Jareth asked. "You have said yourself that they do not care. Perhaps we must act independently of them. Now, do you know where Sarah is being held prisoner?"

"The place is called Rosehill Medical. I know where it is, it's on the outskirts of town going east. I also found out the name of the doctor who is treating her as well. His name is Peter Harlow, if that helps any," Toby said.

Jareth nodded. "Your information will have to suffice," he said. "I shall meet you in the park first thing tomorrow. Make certain that you are there at seven. I am quite impatient and do not wish to wait for you."

"I'll be there, Jareth," Toby promised as the Goblin King vanished in a cloud of shimmering crystals. "I'll be there."

Once he was gone, Toby got up and went to set his alarm for six. Without changing clothes, he collapsed onto the bed, his eyes closing as he allowed himself to relax. He hoped with all his heart that whatever Jareth was going to do that it would ultimately help his sister.

The last thing he wanted to do was to cause anymore trouble, but at the same instance, he could see the truth in the Goblin King's words. In a strange sort of way, Jareth had somehow become his friend, and right now, Toby knew that he needed all the friends he could get.

Something also told him that time was running short…and this time his assertions were completely accurate.


	4. Chapter 3: The Reflections of a King

_I really did try to use the comments that Jareth's Genevieve and Cyllene had offered with this chapter. Those are the kinds of reviews that are really the most helpful in character development. I have concluded that of all the characters I have ever written (and there have been a great many), Jareth **is** the most difficult. I welcome the challenge of making him realistic, but he is not easy at all to write. Hopefully, this chapter will convey that at least somewhat. _

_Please let me know what you think of this, I am truly grateful for all of your reviews!_

_Edit: the clarity issue Cyllene made note of has been taken care of._

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**Chapter 3: The Reflections of a King**

Jareth returned to the Underground upon leaving Toby alone in his bedroom. His thoughts were abuzz as he seated himself on his throne and watched as the goblins swarmed to his side, no doubt wanting to please him in every way possible.

It was no secret, the Goblin King rarely contemplated the plights of others, in fact, on the surface, he was quite egotistical and extremely self-centered. To him, humans were nothing more than living, breathing pawns in his version of an Underground chess match. For many years, that was how he played the game. A conscience was far beyond his scope of perception, because he had always been so well protected by his magic. Like a spoiled child, he could do with it as he pleased.

For many years, he lived in this way until Sarah Williams had made a wish. She had intended to retract it, all the while insisting that she did not mean it. Jareth had been angry and told her 'what was said, was said' and that it was too late.

After having given Sarah the task of solving the Labyrinth, she ventured into it, while Jareth had taken great delight in presenting her with one hindrance after another. His game had been, as Sarah so aptly put it, 'not fair', but that made no difference to him.

When she started to make more progress than he anticipated, he resorted to threatening one of her friends; thus forcing the dwarf, Hoggle, to change his position at every turn. He had been cruel during her short time in the Underground, but contrary to that, she had matured and ultimately thwarted him.

This, he could not and would not forget…ever.

Although, these events had transpired some fourteen years ago; to Jareth's wounded pride, it could have easily come about yesterday. The Goblin King was so profoundly affected by her that he tried everything he could to get her to stay. Instead of succeeding, she had insisted on returning home and taking Toby with her. Through this action, she had exposed him for what he truly was; a cruel and heartless tyrant who was ultimately a slave to his own desires. In essence, he had never really been generous with her at all, but for a very long time, he believed that his argumentation had actually been the truth.

Everything he had said, had been a result of his wounded pride and fractured ego. Sarah drove that point home when she faced him the very last time. _You have no power over me!_ She had told him, her words emerging as a physical blow to everything he held dear.

In all the years of his existence, Jareth could not remember a moment when he felt such an overwhelming sense of pain and sorrow as he did at that precise instance. It had been that way each and every time she had faced him.

It was during the years that followed their shared experiences in the Labyrinth, that Jareth had discovered that the power he had tried to exercise over her had been mysteriously blocked. He could not figure out why that was the case. Even after her friends had confronted him about her, did he realize that it embodied the entire Underground and not just him. The three friends had not believed a word he had spoken until he showed them the darkened crystals. Through that demonstration, he had managed to convince them that he had tried and his words were true. The link to Sarah Williams had been severed.

It would also emerge that there existed far more to his feelings about her than simple curiosity as to how she was faring. Jareth had been angry, but he also felt rejected and despised – two emotions that had never affected him before. Today, it was different because the pain he carried seemed to come full-circle. Specifically, when he acknowledged the underlying truth: He was still very much in love with Sarah.

Of course, this was not something he wanted her younger brother to identify since he needed Toby's help in finding her. He knew that once the teenager had helped him, he would be evenly torn between expressing this undying emotion or punishing her for having refused him in the first place.

Amidst all of this, it was clear that the Goblin King's life had not changed to drastically since these events. His harbored feelings stayed hidden and he went about business as usual. That is, his treatment his subjects was still demonstrated through utmost disregard. It was a daily occurrence for him to hurl them about like living toys; their bodies flung through the air like an old garment no longer of any use to him.

Contrary to this unchanged manner, many of his subjects had started to notice how their king had changed. He was no longer happy and several of them started to recognize it. Fearing what he might say or do if they inquired, the goblins opted to remaining silent, their behavior somehow mirroring that of their King.

So Jareth had returned from Aboveground that evening in a bitter sort of mood. Instead of speaking to anyone about these things, the Goblin King sat, his legs idly draped over one side of the throne, his upper torso leaning against the other side. His clothing had once again reverted back to the familiar Underground attire.

Wordlessly, he stared out among the throng of goblins neither speaking nor instructing them. Perhaps they were smart enough to know better than to ask him anything at that moment. Instead of contemplating any of this, his gaze soon drifted and he noticed a young female in one corner of the room. She was seated on the ground, a mask covering her face and concealing her pointed ears and large eyes.

Most of the goblins in his throne room were male, which made this one only stand out all the more. As their high-pitched laugher continued to emerge, Jareth was reminded of the sounds of pre-adolescence just before an Aboveground male's voice was to change.

The female remained distanced from the other goblin inhabitants, her movements shy and somewhat reserved. She was rather tall as her stature loomed over that of the other creatures who occupied the room. Yet, it was her lack of confidence, which somehow made her lurch over like a hunchback.

Jareth never questioned or pondered why this girl carried herself in such a fashion, but it was quickly getting on his nerves. It reminded him of Toby's belief that he was no use and this, if anything, made the Goblin King's lousy mood even worse. His expression darkened as he stared at her.

For several moments, she did not seem to realize that she was being watched until the King had allowed his legs to leave the arm of the throne and his feet to settle on the floor. He then made his way through the throng of goblins as though Moses parting the Red Sea. They made way for him as any good subjects would.

Reaching her, instead of speaking, he grabbed a tuff of her hair and pulled her up off the ground. Her feet abruptly left the floor as she hung like a rag doll from the King's unyielding hand. Eventually he spoke as he watched her frightened eyes focus on him.

"What is your name?"

"P-Prudence, Y-your Majesty," she whispered brokenly, the pain filled words emerging in conjunction with her unsteady breathing. Wordlessly, she reached for his wrist and tried to pry her hair out from his grasp. When his hold tightened, she lowered her arms and merely hung from this hold, her body simply dangling a meter above the ground. After several moments of silence had passed, her soft plea filled Jareth's ears. "Please, y-you're hurting me."

Ignoring her pleas, Jareth took a deep breath. "Prudence, would you fulfill a task for me?" He asked, his question ringing through the room, thus causing the goblins to cease their aimless guffaws and watch as he tormented the female. Instead of intervening, they simply remained where they were, watching their king with undying interest.

When she did not immediately respond, Jareth released her hair and watched as she fell to the ground, her body sagging against the surface of the stone floor. Encased in unspoken pain and fear, she raised her head as her soft words emerged. "W-what must I do, Sire?"

"Tell me what your task here is," he said.

"Task?" She whispered.

"Yes, you wretched thing, what is it you do here besides grace my walls with your repulsive presence?" He asked trying to make his words as simple as possible. He was growing impatient with her, and from the looks of things, she was well aware of what could come about when the King of the Goblins was displeased.

"I am a page, Your Majesty," she responded sadly, but it did not escape him that her voice had unconsciously wavered.

"I see," he began. "Alright, what I wish you to do fits with your job description."

Shrugging, she offered an obedient nod.

"You must go to the Bog of Eternal Stench," he began.

"Oh no Sire, please, anything but that," she pleaded helplessly as she folded her arms before her and sank even closer into the ground than she had been before. Her head remained lowered until her forehead was pressed against the leather shoes he wore on his feet.

For Jareth, it was strange to see that sort of response from anyone in the room. He figured that it aside from Hoggle, none of the inhabitants here had ever really bowed to him in such a fashion before. Their behavior somehow mirrored how he treated them. There was no mutual respect, only mockery, laughter, and abuse.

Looking down at the girl who was now bowed before him, he could not deny that this was a pleasant enough sensation, even if something about it did feel strangely unsettling.

Exhaling, he reached down and grabbed the arms of the goblin female and pulled her roughly to her feet. "You foolish wench, I do not wish you to stay there, I only wish for you to deliver a message and bring someone here."

"Forgive me," she said as she raised her head.

Jareth nodded, but instead of responding to her words, he began to outline the job he wanted her to do. "Now, the one you must seek out is Hogsbreath, Hogwart…no that's not it. I always forget his name. Wait, it's Hoggle. At any rate, I need you to tell him that his presence is required here and that it involves his friend, the human girl, Sarah. Tell him that he must bring Ludo and Sir Didymus with him as they would wish to know what has transpired as well."

Prudence nodded. "I will do my best."

"Oh and there is something else, they must be here before the clock strikes the thirteenth hour. That is how much time you have to deliver my message and return with them." Jareth instructed. "Do you have any questions?"

"What if I fail?" She asked.

"You will not fail," he said impatiently. "The task is one of my easier ones. Nothing should stand in your way, but you must hurry."

She nodded obediently and hastened quickly from the throne room.

* * *

Once she had departed, Jareth looked around the room and noticed that several of the goblins had left as well. Perhaps they had retired for the evening, he thought. Seeing that it was now late, it would probably be wise for him to leave them to their own devices and utilize the remaining time to plan his course of action.

There was still a great deal to do and instead of returning to the throne, Jareth made his way towards the door opposite the one Prudence had exited. Ignoring the fact that the room was in a great state of disarray, Jareth entered the hallway that led to his quarters, his footsteps hollow as they echoed around him.

The Goblin King was accustomed to coming and going at will, and since he was an absolute monarch over the goblins, he knew that they dare not question his brand of authority. For what it was worth, they did not seem to not mind Jareth's 'rough around the edges' manner since he did not demand cleanliness.

He smirked somewhat callously as he reached the end of the corridor and turned left towards a large wooden door. His thoughts returned to his subjects. If they needed his assistance with anything, they could surely find him…somewhere. After all, they did possess a certain amount of their own magic.

Entering one of his private rooms, he closed the door behind him before glancing over at the clock. The thirteen numbers, although strange in the Aboveground sense, were quite familiar to him. In fact, he had grown quite accustomed to using both Aboveground and Underground means in which to measure time passage.

Jareth had every intention of arriving at the park at the hour he had specified. His only hope was that Toby would not leave him waiting, as was the case with many of his subjects.

Inside the bedchamber, he seated himself on the edge of his bed, his eyes closing slightly. Ever since his departure from the Williams' house earlier that evening, Jareth tried to conjure in his mind what would transpire once he and Toby had met and journeyed to the 'hospital'.

His thoughts unconsciously shifted back to Toby. The boy had indeed turned out much differently than he had anticipated. In the back of his mind, the Goblin King pondered what would have happened had Sarah failed and the boy had actually been forced to stay with him in the Underground. He would surely not be fretting over what his parents thought, nor would he be fearful of a little insignificant magic.

Jareth took a deep breath as he contemplated his pending visit Aboveground. I will no doubt have to dress as I did at Toby's house, he thought bitterly. The jeans he had worn had been quite uncomfortable and this reminded him of how much he hated the men's styles there. No matter, Jareth was completely confidant that once the two of them reached that evil place, they would go immediately to where Sarah was being detained and he would use whatever magic was at his disposal to conjure a means of bringing her back to the Underground.

As for Toby's fate, the Goblin King figured that he would not require the scared teenager once he had Sarah back. He would simply send the youth home and be done with it. Aside from that, if what Toby had said about Sarah had been the truth, then there would be nothing to tie her back to her former life.

It was no secret at all that after centuries of existence, Jareth had only been thwarted by one human being, and that was Sarah. It was for that reason that he was not completely convinced that her half-brother would be all that easy for him to manipulate.

One thing was abundantly clear, Jareth was more than determined to face this challenge head-on, and he would do whatever was necessary to get everything he wanted.

He would not be made into a laughingstock for a second time.


	5. Chapter 4: Of Hearts and Dreams

_Finally after several days of trying, I could get this uploaded. Sorry for the wait everyone. Many thanks for the reviews and the constructive comments. Because of your words and encouragement, I am finding with each chapter that I want the story to get better and better. Hopefully this will be something that you will all enjoy._

_Thanks have to go out to my friend Amie who caught the chameleon reference. Leave it to a friend who owns reptiles to remind me that an iguana cannot change colors, but a chameleon can. That change in an earlier chapter has been made. ;)_

_Otherwise, many thanks to those of you read and review, and please do continue to let me know what you think. I can handle good constructive comments, if it helps to improve the story, and thus far, it has._

_Please review!!!_

_edit: word changed, the rest I have decided to keep as is. If he's too nice, sorry, but I worked my tail off on this chapter, and I don't want to change it anymore._

_Oh yes, as for the adverb comments in an earlier review, some writers I have seen have written in this way as a means to add emphasis to the specific ideas they are conveying. I don't know how right it is, per se, but I do think it's a stylistic thing more than anything else. :) Oh and Jareth would be 'disinterested'...bordering on bored out of his mind. 'Uninterested' would be too light for him, I think.  
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**Chapter 4: Of Hearts and Dreams**

The night passed quickly for Jareth, and when he arrived at the park the following morning, he could see how the sun's first rays were shining between the trees. It was a clear morning, the sky now showing the purple and pinkish hues that came with the dawn of a new day. Jareth had rarely seen the sky in this manner, perhaps because he generally was Aboveground at night, when he could take in everything unobserved.

For what it was worth, instead of taking in the majestic view that spanned out before him, the Goblin King walked over to a familiar concrete bench and brushed his hand along its surface.

This was the first place he had actually seen Sarah when she had been a girl of fourteen. Her hair had been long and the distinctive color of a raven's feathers. She had pulled it back and had worn a wreath of flowers on her head, which had resembled a crown. Her words had filled his ears, the distinctive quality capturing his imagination from the first moment.

* * *

"_Through dangers untold and hardships unnumbered…_

_I have fought my way here to the castle beyond the Goblin City…_

_To take back the child you had stolen…"_

* * *

These words still echoed in his mind although they were more than a decade old. Through his memories, he was reminded rather brutally of that final confrontation he had had with her.

Wordlessly, Jareth seated himself on the bench, the early morning dew seeping through his jeans and leaving him with a damp backside. Ignoring this, he momentarily closed his eyes and shook his head.

Sarah was not present, but his memory of her was. This, if anything, left Jareth feeling weak and lackadaisical. He realized that during the past few days, he had evenly divided his time between both worlds, and perhaps that was making his energies decrease. Dismissing this, he allowed his eyes to close for a moment until he heard Toby's voice addressing him.

"Hi, Jareth."

He slowly opened his eyes to see that the boy was extending what looked to be a paper like cup towards him. When he said nothing, Toby continued speaking. "I'm here, just like I promised."

He accepted the object being offered and watched as the boy sat down and pulled the lid off a second cup. After several seconds, Toby wordlessly sipped what looked to be a hot drink. "So I see," he eventually spoke, but nodded towards the cup he now held in his hand. "What is this?"

"It's coffee, some people drink it in the morning, to help them wake up, others drink it for pleasure. I figured that since we were meeting at this ungodly hour, I'd grab a couple before coming here," Toby explained. "I hope you didn't have to wait too long."

"No, I just arrived myself," Jareth said simply. His mismatched eyes were still staring down at the cup that was now in his hand. The warmth that emanated from it somehow added the right contrast to the chill of the early morning air.

"That's good, I mean; since you said that you didn't like to be kept waiting, I tried to hurry," he said as he motioned towards the cup. "I hope you like it."

"Is there iron in this drink?" Jareth asked calmly.

"No, but if you want me to I can go ask my Chemistry teacher to make sure," Toby responded smiling somewhat nervously.

"That will not be necessary, I trust you," Jareth said as he took a sip and grimaced. "You say that people here drink this stuff for pleasure? It tastes quite bitter."

"Yeah, that's why I usually throw in a bunch of cream and sugar," Toby said. "The flavored coffees are a big thing these days, but you didn't strike me as the flavored coffee type, so I just ordered it black." He extended several small packages to the Goblin King. "Here, this should help."

Nodding, Jareth accepted them and quietly added the contents before taking a wooden stick and stirring the now muddy brown mixture together. "This reminds me of the Bog of Eternal Stench," he mused, "but it does smell a bit better."

"The what?" Toby asked as he took another sip.

"It's nothing important," Jareth said as he brought the cup to his lips. Swallowing he nodded. "You were right, this tastes pretty good now. Thank you, Toby."

"Well, at least I did something right," the teenager mused. "Last night, I was under this really weird impression that I couldn't do anything right, or that you figured me to be a complete and total fool."

Jareth took a deep breath. "A fool?"

"Yeah, you know the village idiot," Toby mused. "I mean; you're a King and you can do some really awesome stuff with those crystal things. Me? I'm nothing more than a stupid fish."

"A Fish?"

"Y'know, a freshman, it's what people generally call those of us in the ninth grade. The upperclassmen always treat us like garbage; they steal our lunch money, or stuff us in a gym locker." Toby shrugged his shoulders as he took another sip of his coffee. "Don't get me wrong, it's not always bad, it's just…not always good."

"The way you describe it, it sounds more bad than good," Jareth commented.

"Yeah, but there's no point in crying over spilt milk, right? I mean; it's a part of life," He grew silent, but after some moments had passed, he looked back over at the Goblin King. "Jareth, can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"Why are you helping me?" He paused before his next words emerged. "I mean; don't get me wrong, I appreciate it and all, but I don't think it's just because I made a wish last night. The way I see it; there's probably a promotion in it for you."

Jareth smirked as he regarded the teenager. "I cannot be promoted any higher than king, I'm afraid."

"You know what I mean," the boy said impatiently. "Just be straight with me."

"Alright, in part it is because of your wish," Jareth began. "I am not getting promoted or offered any special considerations because of what I am doing here. My life is hardly exciting, in fact, it is sometimes quite dull. Perhaps the reason I am here is because you amuse me."

"Great, that makes me feel a whole lot better," Toby grumbled sarcastically as his fist tightened on the cup.

The Goblin King inhaled slowly. "You wanted an honest answer, and I am trying to give you one. I'm not always the best when it comes to articulating a response."

"You can say that again," the boy snorted.

"Alright, then, how's this: I think your quest is a noble one," Jareth said. "Now, don't go and get the wrong idea, I do have a reputation to uphold and it does not include acts of great honor or fortitude. In fact, I do not recall ever having undertaken one in all my years of existence."

"Then, why didn't you just say so?" Toby asked. "Why do you have to be so cruel with your words?"

"It's my nature," Jareth said as he continued to sip the coffee.

"Then change it," Toby shot back. "People will probably respect you a hell of a lot more if you did."

Jareth was momentarily struck silent, but after several moments had passed, he looked at the teenager before his next question emerged. "Have you always been this vocal, or is this simply building up from our conversation last night?"

Toby finished his coffee and stood up, as he did, his response emerged. "Last night I told you a lot of stuff, and you belittled and insulted me. It was just like when the older boys would torment and push me around. I got to thinking after you left about how the words of others can really leave an impact." He went over to the garbage can and threw the empty cup into the receptacle.

Turning back around, he looked at the Goblin King, the anger and hurt never leaving his face. "You made me feel like crap and I get enough of that from my parents. My mother always says: 'You're just a kid, Toby, you don't know…blah, blah, blah'." He took a deep breath as his next words emerged. "You want to know the truth?"

Jareth nodded.

"I don't even know if I can trust you. I mean; how do I know if what I say will not be ridiculed? I don't really know you, but from what I have seen, you're nothing more than a bully and you don't care about anyone but yourself." As he spoke, he could feel the angry tears as they got caught in his eyes. He turned away hoping that Jareth would not see them, but as soon as he had them under control, he continued. "I'll say it straight up; I don't care what you think of me anymore. I love my sister and the only reason I am here right now is because I want to help _her_."

"You're only here because of Sarah?" Jareth asked simply. "Your presence here is not because you hoped that I would try to appease your lacking in confidence. I have concluded that you have quite enough of that as you are. If you didn't then you would never have said what you did."

"You're not just saying that, are you?" Toby mumbled.

"No, I'm not," Jareth said, his words laced in an unfamiliar simplicity. He closed his eyes as he recalled the callous manner in which he treated Prudence and the way he had mishandled many of his subjects. Amidst all of the things that he had done, this boy had somehow become their voice.

Instead of elaborating on that fact, he took a deep breath. "Toby, I apologize."

The teenager raised his head, surprise literally swallowing him whole. "You do?"

Jareth nodded. "Yes, but you know, I may be able to do a great many things with my magic; I can show you your dreams in a crystal, but even that has limits. I cannot change the person that you are nor would I wish to."

"I didn't expect you to, it's enough that you're trying to help Sarah. But, you asked me what I was thinking about and that was it. Regardless of what happens to me, she's been on my mind since this whole thing started."

"I know," Jareth conceded, but after several moments, he took a deep breath. "Toby, I wasn't going to say anything, but since you're being so honest, there is something else that you should know. It is about the first time I encountered Sarah. It was right here in this park. She was a few years older than you are now and was strangely motivated by her fantasy and imagination. She dressed in costumes and played with toys. Even then, I did not approach her until later. When that happened, I was not nice to her at all. In fact, as you observed just now, I've never been nice to anyone unless there was something in it for me."

"In other words, you were a real jerk," Toby said bluntly.

"In a manner of speaking, yes I was," he nodded. "From that first encounter, your sister faced me as though I was her sworn enemy. Because that was her perception of me, that was ultimately what I became. I challenged her to fulfill a difficult task, and regardless of the hindrances I placed before her; she succeeded. I was astounded by her courage, and taken aback by her loyalty. I think in hindsight, some of that same courage exists in you."

Toby shook his head. "Jareth, I can't be brave like her."

"But you already are," the Goblin King said.

"How can I be when I'm scared?" Toby asked. "I know you probably think I'm biggest wimp in the world for admitting it, but I am afraid."

"You are not the biggest wimp, that particular honor belongs to a fellow named Hoggle," Jareth smirked despite himself.

"Okay, the second," Toby mused.

Jareth looked at him, the coffee now completely forgotten. "Why do you say that?"

"Maybe because I think that if I say it first then you won't," Toby said.

"But, Toby, it's not true," Jareth said plainly.

"I don't know. I mean; could I be brave like her?" The teenager asked.

"I think you already have demonstrated that without even realizing it," Jareth said.

Toby stood up and waited for Jareth to do the same. Once they started to make their way across the park and over towards the bridge, Toby took a deep breath, his next words emerging. "You must really care for her."

"Excuse me?"

"I think you're here because you care for Sarah. You came all this way to help her. I mean; if you really hated her, you wouldn't bother," Toby said. "Last night you said that you would offer your home in an attempt to protect her."

Jareth took a deep breath, but before he could respond, the teenager continued. "The thing is, you probably knew all along that if I tried to help Sarah by myself, I wouldn't stand a chance. Maybe by working together, we stand a better chance at succeeding."

"And you say that you are not brave?"

"That wasn't courage," Toby said with a dismissive wave of his hand. "It was just me being honest."

"Perhaps, but I would be willing to bet that it must have felt very good for you to say those words," Jareth said. "You did so not even considering what I would or could do in retaliation."

"It's no big deal, that's what 'friends' usually do, they tell each other off when one of them starts acting like a jerk," the teenager replied with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "I guess turnabout's fair play, huh?"

"I don't follow," Jareth said as they reached the edge of the park and made their way down the street.

"You put me in my place last night, today I put you in yours," Toby said matter-of-factly. "The only difference was that I didn't do it to be mean, I did it because as weird as it may sound, I consider you a friend."

Jareth looked at the teenager with unhidden surprise in his gaze. Toby considered him a friend and the Goblin King had none. He had subjects, but among the goblins who served him, none of them were his friends. He was not even certain if he even knew how to be a friend.

Whatever the case, the teenager's words touched him and left him feeling a strange warmth inside. Maybe a friend was what he was missing out on all along.

For the remainder of their journey, neither of them spoke. Instead they both seemed to have the same thoughts filtering through their minds.

It was now time for them to set aside their differences and go find Sarah.

* * *

At that moment, Sarah rolled over on the bed, the creaking sound of it filling her ears and waking her from a dreamless slumber. She wearily opened her eyes to a half darkened room. She had turned off the lights when she had grown tired, but the lights out in the hallway never seemed to dim.

For the young woman, the worst part of being stuck in this place was simply not knowing if it was day or night. She remembered loving the daylight, being outside at the park and enjoying the sounds of the pond as the wind blew across it. The soft ripples would resonate about her and she would feel a sense of happiness in being there.

Today, her reality was living in a place that only provided her a vague semblance of the real world. This would emerge whenever she would peer out through the glass that separated her room from the corridor.

Usually, she could somehow guess the time of day by how much activity was going on out in the hallway. Crawling slowly off the bed, she took padded steps across the room and over to the door. It was locked, and as usual, she was trapped inside.

She placed the flat palm of her hand onto the glass. The silver diamond shapes that covered it, never giving her a real look beyond her single cell prison. "I have never felt so alone in my life," she whispered to the stillness, the heartbroken words not heard by anyone. In fact, the only response to them was been silence.

It was a sound that she had grown quite accustomed to.

Her thoughts then shifted to Doctor Harlow.

A glimmer of hope somehow remained with her and she closed her eyes and imagined standing in the park with all those familiar sounds resonating around her. Peter Harlow said that she would have to remember her past, but with the effects of the medication slowly wearing off, she realized that she could. More and more things were coming back to her and she wanted nothing more than to remember. Not having those pills would surely help enable her to get out of there and live the life that was intended.

For some reason, Peter Harlow was different, much different than anyone she had ever encountered. From the moment she had come into this place, she had met a sum total of thirty-two different doctors, many of whom had opted to not stay on her case for one reason or another. After some time had passed, one of them would leave and another would enter, as if by clockwork.

Her mind drifted back to the words she had heard that day. She had spoken, her month long silence now broken, the sound of her own voice strange and unfamiliar to her. She turned back around to see the empty and windowless cell. Her eyes closed for a moment as she tried to remember her life before the hospital.

Vague images filled her mind; some incomprehensible, while others more vivid and well defined. With her head now cleared, she could perhaps figure all of this out.

Yet, this was not to happen, for Peter Harlow's instructions of her no longer being forced into taking pills had not been processed through the hospital computers, and now, an orderly clad in white was now entering the room to administer yet another dosage of the mind altering medication.

She returned to the bed and quickly laid back down, her head resting against the flat pillow as the blankets came up and over her head to block the imposing form of the man.

"Come now, Miss Williams, we've been through this before, you must take your medicine if you want to get better," the man said, his voice gruff and emotionless.

Sarah wanted to bolt from the room, but knew that there was no way, the sheets, which had started out as her protection, were now her entrapment. They smelled like everything else in this place, medicine and antiseptics. They were clean, but they had been freshly changed and the linens carried the odors that she detested the most.

Eventually, she had no choice but to come out from beneath the covers and take the medicine as the man was insisting upon. There was no point in arguing otherwise as he did have power over her, and he was more than willing to demonstrate it if push came to shove.

Dubiously, she did as he instructed.

Seconds later, she watched as he left the room, the door closing and locking behind him. Her eyes filled with tears as she crawled off the bed and went into the lavatory.

Sticking her finger down her throat, she tried without any success at getting herself to vomit. When that did not work, the tears burst forth. Maybe this will be the last time I must do this, she thought sadly.

Please, let someone help me out of here, her thoughts were going mad. I have to get out of here. She leaned up against the iron based looking glass. "I wish someone would help me get out of here," she whimpered softly.

When silence filled her ears, she slowly made her way back to the bed. Crawling back under the covers, she closed her eyes. There, she allowed her thoughts to drift as she fell into a dreamless sleep. In the coming hours, it would happen quickly enough, and with it would bring change, which no one, not even Sarah Williams, anticipated.


	6. Chapter 5: The Plot Thickens

_Please read and review. I am losing some of my motivation here, and need more than just alert emails._

_Thanks!_

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Plot Thickens**

When she opened her eyes about half an hour later, the first thing Sarah noticed was that the door was ajar and Peter Harlow was entering the room. Taking in his stance through heavily lidded eyes, she noticed that he looked somewhat downcast. Regardless of that, he came over to where she was lying and wordlessly seated himself next to the bed.

"Sarah, are you awake?" He eventually spoke, his voice drawn.

"Yes," she mumbled. "What time is it?"

"It's eight in the morning," he said as he looked at her.

Nodding, she licked her dry lips as she rubbed her eyes tiredly. "What are you doing here? I mean; don't you usually come after lunch?"

"Generally yes, but as I was making my rounds upstairs, one of the nurses told me that Thomas Sanders came in here and had you take one of those pills again this morning."

Sarah took a deep breath, but nodded. "Yeah, he did."

"Are you alright?" He asked.

"Why shouldn't I be?" She asked emotionlessly. "After all, I have grown rather accustomed to people here making promises and not keeping them."

"That was not my intention, Sarah," he began. "Mister Sanders was reprimanded for this and he will not be back in here any time soon."

"I'll believe that when I see it," she said. "After all, Intentions and facts are two different things, are they not?"

"They shouldn't be," he said, but instead of continuing along those lines, he took a deep breath. "I wanted to see if you were alright, or if you remembered anything before the pill had taken affect." He pulled a golden pocket watch from his lab coat and opened the cover. It looked to be an antique of some kind, but without another word he glanced down at the face before closing it and sliding it back into his pocket.

He waited for her to respond, but when she did not, he spoke, his inquiry simple. "Are you alright?"

"I have a headache from the stench of these sheets and my head's in a fog," she admitted, but allowed her head to sink back against the pillow.

"Should I bring you something? An aspirin, perhaps?" He asked. "It might help."

"I don't want anything from you except to be let out of here," she said as she took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She half expected him to strike her, but his stance did not change. Instead, they found themselves swallowed up in stony silence.

"I can't do that, Sarah," he said.

"You can't or you won't?" She asked.

"I cannot," he said. "For one thing you're not ready to leave."

"What makes you so certain of that?" She shot back, her green eyes filled with an unknown hostility that she did not even know she possessed.

In lieu of an immediate response, Peter reached into his pocket and extracted a small notebook. Tapping his fingers against it, he tried to formulate what he wished to say. "The reason is twofold; you haven't been outside in a decade, and the other bit is about the request you made yesterday."

"You mean the same request I have been making since I was forced to stay here?" She asked plainly.

As her question resonated throughout the room, she could tell from looking at him that he was about to tell her that she would not be leaving. In fact, it seemed more than apparent since she had heard that same speech time and again. Her father and stepmother had no use for her and this was their way of keeping her out of their hair. It was apparent that if they had their way, which they clearly did, then she would stay locked away forever.

Sarah knew at that moment that it was pointless to say anything, yet somehow image of a princess trapped in a tower and an evil queen holding the key filtered into her thoughts.

Instead of immediately speaking, she kept her gaze on him, but waited for several moments for him to say something. When he did not, she took the incentive. "They don't want me to leave, do they?"

"Your mother called me last night after speaking with your father…" he began.

"…She is not my mother, she's my stepmother, and she hates me. That much I remember, even if my memories of everything else are hazy," Sarah interrupted.

"Sarah, they want you to stay and I cannot go against their wishes. Not when they have power of attorney," he said.

As these words filled her mind, Sarah could suddenly feel the anger building up inside of her. "They can't lock me up forever!"

"I'm afraid they can, because they have your fate locked away in litigation," Peter said. "Your stepmother is a lawyer, she knows all of this, and she knows how to use it to their advantage."

"Well, then you might as well find a proper way to do me in because I would rather be dead than stuck living like this for another day," Sarah said, her voice dull. "I'm not crazy and it may surprise you, but I've never been crazy, and I've known for the last ten years. I need to see something besides white walls and a metal looking glass. I want to be free to do as I please, not be stuck here as a prisoner."

"You're not a prisoner, Sarah, you're a patient," he objected.

"That's not what I would call it," she said angrily. "How would you describe a person who is locked up like a common criminal? Maybe that's why you and those goons keep forcing me into taking those damn pills."

"My hands are tied, Sarah, I cannot sign your release without their consent," Peter's words emerged with traces of exasperation, but ignoring them he continued speaking. "Perhaps I can try and arrange you another room with a window that would enable you to look outside or at least move about the facilities as you please. Would that be an adequate compromise?"

She shook her head as she closed her eyes. "No, I don't want anything from you. If you have no intention of stopping with the pills, then don't even try to bribe me in any other way. You have no power over me." With these words lazily hanging in the air, she turned away from him, her final words echoing throughout the empty room.

She closed her eyes and allowed herself to silently weep. It was clear that her will to live and her hope of freedom was lost. For that reason alone, she wanted nothing more than to die. Sarah had long since realized that there would be no room in this entire hospital that would give her the freedom she yearned for and had long since been denied.

There was nothing; she had lost her hope, she had no dreams and no friends. She was fully convinced that she would remain lost and alone in this existence consumed in bland food, pain, and never ending sorrow.

* * *

Peter Harlow solemnly got to his feet, the guilt somehow overwhelming him as he stared down at where Sarah listlessly lay on the bed. All that he could see was her back and the rise and fall of her side as her heavy breathing could be detected while she softly cried.

Sarah is not crazy, he thought as the remorse continued to eat away at him. Contrary to all of that, her parting words still puzzled him. Why they had emerged in such a manner? He asked himself. How could she just come out and say: 'You have no power over me' and mean it as though it was the most logical statement in the world?

At that moment, he wanted nothing more than to take her away from this place and prove to her that he was not her jailer, but instead a man with a conscience. He knew that he could not because he was torn between helping her and being driven by his job.

Slowly, he walked out of the room and allowed the door to close firmly behind him. Locking it, he allowed his thoughts to drift at will. Who did the Williams family think they were to torture Sarah in this inhumane fashion anyway? Was there anything that he could do that had not already been done? The questions hounded him as he walked.

Rounding a corner, he made his way along the corridor, which led to his office. With each step, his thoughts shifted to his eldest brother who had a daughter who was about Sarah's age. She had just finished her Master's Degree at Princeton and the whole family was filled with pride about her accomplishment. How was it that his niece could enjoy simple things like going out on dates, meeting friends, and attending classes, while another young woman was condemned to existing in an asylum?

His thoughts shifted to the stance of most of his colleagues. They had given up on her case within several weeks of having taken it on. Perhaps they, like him, had ceased to believe that she was as crazy as Lydia Williams had implied.

Peter knew that he could not continue working under the condition that stated that he held this young woman's destiny in his hands. At the same instant, he realized that he was obligated to maintaining the scribbled words, which were contained in her medical file. Amidst all the rhetoric that he had dished out during their conversation, he was completely aware of the fact that his argumentation had been weak at best.

As he reached the door to his office, he was surprised to see a teenage boy and a blond headed man standing in the corridor waiting for him. The teenager was looking around, his gaze laced in a mixture between nervousness and curiosity. The man regarded him through mismatched eyes and an annoyed, almost leering, expression.

Trying to ignore this, he approached the unlikely pair, and took a deep breath. "May I help you?"

"Maybe," the boy said tiredly. "I'm looking for Dr. Harlow."

"You found him, that's me," he said in a voice that depicted a strange mix between forced cheerfulness and professionalism. "What can I do for you?"

Before the teenager could so much as utter a sound, the man spoke, his matter-of-fact words filling the area and snubbing out things like protocol or human formalities. "We're here for Sarah Williams."

"You wish to visit her?" Peter asked.

"No," the man said firmly. "We wish to take her out of this offensive place."

"I'm sorry but I cannot permit that," he said, his voice indicating that he was now on the defensive. "For one thing, visitors to this ward must be at least sixteen years of age to visit a patient. From looking at your young companion, I have a difficult time believing that he's even sixteen at all. This rule is in place for his protection as much as Miss Williams'. It would be unethical for me to go against it."

The teenager turned and looked at the man, his expression laced in unspoken resentment. It was clear to anyone observing that the boy's body language was blatantly shouting: 'What did I tell you?'

Ignoring this, the man took a deep breath as he looked at Peter, his gaze steady. "Protection?" He scoffed, his gaze neither faltering nor shifting. "From what? This young boy is simply seeking the opportunity to visit his sister, nothing more. You speak of ethics and yet I see none demonstrated in your words or manner. It would seem that you are a cruel and heartless individual who must hide behind the rules set forth by others."

"I am not trying to do that at all," Peter objected. "We have rules here and guidelines, which must be adhered to. I cannot simply ignore them for the sake of not appearing 'cruel and heartless'." He paused. "Now, aside from his age, we do have rules regarding strangers visiting patients. I must insist that you tell me who you are and how your visit could assist Miss Williams in her healing."

The man took a deep breath, his next words emerging in as condescending a tone as he could muster. "It is my understanding that a visit from a family member does assist one in healing." He paused. "This is Toby, Sarah's brother."

"Alright, and who are you?" Peter asked. "Do you have a name?"

"His name is Jareth Kingsley," Toby said, the lie rolling freely off his tongue as though it were the most natural thing in the world. "He's my cousin, which means he's family, too."

"I see," Peter said, but instead of commenting, he looked at Jareth and watched as the tall blond headed man maintained his gaze and offered a reciprocating nod.

Inhaling slowly, Peter acknowledged that his initial impulse was to disallow them access to her room. Before he could verbally say so, the image of Sarah as she turned away from him suddenly flashed through his mind, thus rendering him completely uncertain.

As his thoughts continued to drift, Peter realized that Jareth and Toby were offering all the right answers. Now, contrary to his personal opinions of them, he would have to let them in to see her. It may breach some unwritten protocol, he thought, but the last thing I want to do is to call Lydia Williams and seek confirmation about their identities from her. Besides, if Sarah was given the opportunity to see some of her family, then she would have no choice but to embrace the fact that someone actually cared for her.

Of course, there was no denying that there was something mystical about Jareth Kingsley. Peter could not pin it down, but the emotions he sensed were strangely familiar, albeit, disquieting. For whatever reason, he doubted seriously that Jareth was Sarah's cousin, but at this point, he was running short on options. There was no denying that Sarah's professed cousin had a bewitching essence, and the longer Peter was in his company, the more he felt inclined to heed Jareth's words.

After several moments had passed, the teenager spoke, his voice taking one last blow at his conscience and bringing him completely out of his contemplations. "Please, Doctor Harlow, we just want to see her."

Peter nodded again, as he looked at Jareth, the taller man's mismatched eyes somehow hypnotic. Before he could respond, Jareth spoke. "You do realize that to deny him the chance to see his sister would be rather similar to concurring with a decade of lies and deceit. Toby believed for many years, that his sister was living in Europe, not detained here in town like a common thief."

"How did you find out that she was even here?" Peter asked.

"I overheard my parents arguing about her last night and when I confronted my dad, he told me that she wasn't in Europe at all and that she was here. I cut school to come here because I wanted to see her," Toby said and motioned towards Jareth. "Since I knew that my parents didn't care, I asked Jareth to come with me. He's an adult and also family. I figured that maybe that would be enough for us to get in and see her for a few minutes."

"Well, right now she's asleep, but I suppose it would be alright for just a few minutes. The way I see it, a couple of familiar faces might lift her spirits a bit." He paused as he started to make his way back down the hallway. "Come with me, please."

Wordlessly, the pair nodded and began to follow.


	7. Chapter 6: Freedom

_Thanks for the reviews. Please continue to let me know what you think. The reviews do motivate me to continue with this story._

_Many thanks!!

* * *

_

**Chapter 6: Freedom**

This had really been a cinch, Toby thought with unhidden surprise as he walked several steps behind the doctor and next to the Goblin King. Jareth had intentionally kept in stride with the teenager so that they could speak without their words being overheard.

Much to both of their relief, it had not been exceedingly difficult to find their way to Peter Harlow's office. In fact, no one seemed to care that they were even there. That is until they reached the psychiatric ward and noticed doctors, nurses, and orderlies swarming the halls like ants at a picnic.

As they followed Peter through the corridors, Jareth's critical eyes continued to take in the white walls and strange smells that permeated the air. For whatever reason, it was these strange medicinal odors that had attracted his attention from the moment they had entered the large glass building. It was something which, also given his expression, was laced in utter distaste.

Every so often, people would turn and stare at them as they passed, but no words were ever spoken. This was initially disquieting for Toby, but somehow seemed commonplace for Jareth.

After several moments of silence had passed, Jareth turned and spoke, his voice, he kept low. "There is something I do not understand."

"What's that?" Toby asked.

"Why did you tell this man that I was your cousin?" Jareth asked.

"It was a lot easier to lie than to tell the truth," Toby muttered under his breath. "If I told him who you really were or where you came from, he'd have us both pegged as mental patients for sure. Let's just say that around here, that would not be such a good thing. Even if they did humor us, there'd probably be a padded cell with my name on it, and your brain would end up pickled in a jar at 'Area 51'."

"Excuse me?"

Ignoring Jareth's inquiry, Toby continued speaking. "Besides, you heard what the doctor said just now, you have to be family in order to see her. That's why I said that you were my cousin. It's sort of like killing two birds with one stone."

"I find that conclusion difficult to fathom," Jareth said bluntly. "Especially since it was the same family that brought harm to her by forcing her to live here in the first place. I am not certain I would wish to be a part of such a family as this."

"Maybe," Toby conceded. "But right now, you have little, if no, choice. If you want to see Sarah, you're going to have to swallow your pride and play along. Let's face it, having to play the brainless twit is no picnic either. They probably figure me for someone with the intelligence of a doormat!"

"Or a goblin," Jareth said smirking.

"Well, clearly I have convinced you," Toby said defensively.

"Toby, you are nothing like a goblin," Jareth said calmly.

"Good, and you're nothing like my family," he responded. After several seconds passed, he looked at Jareth. "Are the goblins really no-brainers?"

"Most of them are," Jareth said. "I must admit, before meeting you, I never once contemplated my treatment of them. They are hearty creatures, their skin is rather thick and they seem not to mind being shoved or kicked around. Through your words at the park, you made me begin to think that perhaps there's more to them than just a thick skin and no brains."

"That's saying a lot," Toby muttered bluntly as he glanced towards the back of the doctor who was still about a meter ahead of them. They grew silent, but after several moments, Toby turned his head to see that Jareth seemed to be deep in his own contemplations. "I'm just glad that I didn't have to start bawling back there," he whispered more to himself than to the Goblin King.

"Bawling?" Jareth asked.

"Yeah, you know, crying and stuff. I learned a long time ago that grown ups seem to have a soft spot for kids who start blubbering," Toby said wryly. "But, to do that in front of you would be even more embarrassing than being stuffed into a gym locker."

Jareth nodded. "I must confess that had I not resorted to using persuasive magic in convincing him, then your blubbering might have proved quite functional." He paused for several seconds as a smirk broke through. "Of course, if I thought it might have assisted in our cause, I would have resorted to it as well."

"That'd never have worked, you're grown." Of course, despite himself, Toby could not help but ponder what it would have looked like to see Jareth crying. Dismissing this, he offered a half-hearted grin. "That's one advantage to being a kid."

"Perhaps, but would you grant me a favor?"

"What?"

"When we get Underground, please do not disclose any of that information to anyone. I do have a reputation to uphold and a crying king would not serve as being exceedingly effective."

Toby smirked, but offered a slight nod. "So, what are you going to do when we get inside?"

"Quiet!" Jareth hissed under his breath.

They had, at that moment stopped in front of a large white door. At the top of it was a square shaped glass which only revealed an eerie sort of whiteness. At that moment, Peter turned around and waited for them to reach where he was standing. Extracting a set of keys from his pocket, he separated them before sticking one into the lock and turning it.

The Goblin King's eyes widened upon seeing this. It was just as Toby had said the night before, he thought, the anger growing with each passing second. Sarah is being kept a prisoner here.

He looked at teenager, who was regarding the door with mirrored shock. "I had no idea that things were this bad," he said bluntly, no longer caring if Peter had heard his words or not.

"Neither did I," the teenager muttered.

They continued to stare as Peter opened the door and made a motion with his arm for them to enter. Wordlessly, Toby and the Goblin King did as was indicated.

"I'll leave you alone for ten minutes," Peter said.

"That will be fine," Jareth said as the doctor pulled the door closed and locked it from the outside.

Before Toby could even ask if Jareth still had the doctor under his persuasive spell, the Goblin King rushed over to the bed and stared down at the woman who was lying against the pillow. Her body was unmoving and her breathing somewhat haggard.

Wordlessly, he reached down and brushed his hand through her hair and against her cheek. The skin was warm and her face covered in red blotches. It was as though she had been weeping.

Without thinking of what he was doing or why, the Goblin King took a deep breath as he cupped her face gently in his hands, his thumbs brushing along her cheeks. "Oh my precious thing," he whispered as he moved a lock of her hair away from her closed eyes. "You look so unlike yourself, much different than I remember."

"She looks awful," Toby said bluntly. "Nothing like the pictures I saw in the attic at home. I can't even recognize her."

"It is Sarah," Jareth said as he seated himself on the bed next to her and conjured a crystal. "Don't ask me how I know, I just do."

"What are you doing?" Toby asked.

"I'm trying to see into her dreams," Jareth said. As his words faded, he concentrated on the prone object that was in his hand.

As the object clouded over with a graying mass, Toby unconsciously shuddered. "It looks more like a nightmare."

"There is nothing there," Jareth said as the crystal vanished and he took a deep breath, the pain and sadness filling him as he regarded her still form. "It is as though the magic is blocked somehow. I can do nothing for her here."

"You can't?" Toby asked. "Nothing at all?"

"I can still do some things, but the magic in her mind is completely blocked, and I cannot get in." As he spoke, he turned away from her and stood up.

"What's the good of magic if it can't even be used help someone?" Toby asked. "You are so good at pushing your weight around, but when it really matters…you're about as useful as a rubber pencil."

Jareth looked at the boy, anger hidden in his gaze. Such impertinence, he thought bitterly. With an attitude like this, I would have sent the offender straight to sudden death. Forget the Bog, that would have been too good for them. A rubber pencil indeed!

The Goblin King's gaze shifted, and it was at that moment when he noticed that Toby's body was unconsciously trembling. Despite the teenager's blunt words and hostile attitude, he was still afraid, and this time instead of being afraid of any possible repercussions, he was scared for the sake of another.

"Jareth, what can we do?" He eventually asked, his voice now a wavering plea.

"I don't know," Jareth said honestly. "Even if we do get her out of here, I can almost guarantee that the road that lies before her will not be an easy one. Her mind is clouded, Toby and it is as though she has lost her will to dream or even make a wish."

"You said last night that wishes were powerful," Toby said.

"They are one of the most powerful forces that rule the Underground, and perhaps that's what keeps me coming back Aboveground, because they hold a power here as well," Jareth explained as he took a deep breath, his next words emerging. "Speaking of which, there exists something in this room that does not feel right."

"What?" Toby asked, concern now shadowing his features as he stared at the Goblin King.

Jareth shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. If I did know, I might be able to fight it, but there is something here that is making me feel noticeably weaker. If I don't get out of here soon, my magic will diminish and my powers will be gone."

"Does this have anything to do with you asking me earlier if there was iron in the coffee?" Toby asked.

Jareth looked at him and after several seconds had passed he offered a concurring nod. "That could be it. While we were out in the corridor, I felt relatively fine, but in this room, it is as though there exists a high concentration of iron nearby." He remained where he was seated and began to look for Sarah's hand. "See if you can find it, please."

Toby complied as Jareth returned his attention to Sarah, his gaze now on her face. "Precious, by my throne, I will get you out of here," he promised. This simple statement reduced the powerful Goblin King to one who was far weaker and more vulnerable than he would have cared to admit.

What Jareth did not notice was that Toby had stopped his search and turned around.

Now, for the first time since meeting Jareth, the teenager could clearly understand what was happening. Jareth had not only known his sister for many years, but he was now showing all the signs of being in love with her. That was probably why it was the Goblin King had apologized to him back at the park. It was also the reason that Jareth had held his temper when Toby had started shooting his mouth off. Suddenly, everything made sense to him. Of course, this did not lighten his heart about Jareth's cruel words and hurtful accusations.

The more Toby thought about it, the more convinced he became that the Goblin King had been using him. Jareth had needed his help, and now that he had it, Sarah's fate rested in his hands. The longer they were there, the more hesitant Toby was about complying with said requests. As if entranced, he watched as Jareth gathered his sister's prone body in his arms and stood up.

Sarah's head immediately came to rest against his shoulder, her steady breathing soft against his neck. Toby watched as Jareth started to make his way towards the door leading outside. Just as he had reached the half closed lavatory door, a feeling of dizziness overwhelmed him and he started to sink to the ground.

Maintaining his footing, Jareth managed to stumble his way back over to the bed and seated himself on the edge, all the while cradling Sarah as if she was made from the finest china in the world.

Toby took a deep breath. "I think I know where it is," he muttered more to himself than to Jareth. Instead of immediately elaborating, he went into the lavatory and found himself staring at his tired reflection above the basin. He reached over and touched it, the hard metal somehow meeting his fingers.

"It's this mirror thing, Jareth. It looks like it's made from cheap metal, but it's affixed to the wall in such a way to prevent Sarah from using it to hurt herself."

He stepped back out into the main room.

"That explains a great deal," Jareth said with a nod. "Now that we know from where this power comes, we must find a way to leave without it leaving a negative influence on the magic."

"We can't just leave with her, though," Toby objected. "I mean; the doctor has locked us in. Even if we could, the second we stepped outside with her, they would arrest you and there'd be no way for either of us to help her."

The Goblin King nodded in agreement. "There's not even a window in this wretched dwelling. This place is worse than the oubliette, even if it is a thousand times cleaner."

"There's no other way out," Toby said as the Goblin King shifted Sarah so that she lay back against the pillow. Standing up, he managed to produce a single crystal. Within seconds, Jareth was immaculately dressed as he had been during their very first encounter. "How'd you do that? Or better said, why did you do that?"

"There is no time to explain," he said grimly. "It was an attempt in testing my limitations. If I could change the order of things around, as was the case with my clothing, then perhaps I can do more than I initially thought. You must know that I am still quite limited to what I can do here, especially since I am weakened."

"Maybe, but why can't you just get us out of here like you did last night when we talked?" Toby asked.

Jareth took a deep breath. "I may be able to, but in order for us to go, I will require your assistance."

"Again?" Toby mused. "I figured that you had already used me enough, specifically to get yourself in here."

"Excuse me?"

"Let's be honest, shall we?" Toby asked bitingly. "Just admit it right here and now that the only thing that mattered to you was to use me to get to Sarah."

"Yet you wanted to use me to help your sister last night," Jareth shot back. "Was that not _your _wish." Contrary to his weakened state, Jareth was still capable of emoting anger, and right at that moment, he was quickly losing his patience. "I cannot do anything for Sarah without your help, and for what it's worth, you cannot help her without me. Perhaps we ought to cease with these silly and needless arguments and simply work together for a change."

Toby nodded. "Alright, fine, you win, so what do you expect me to do?"

"Find a way for this room to be cut off from that other room and do it as quickly as possible. I became weak when I went near that door, so I must maintain a safe distance from it if I am get us safely away."

"You mean iron to you is like kryptonite is to Superman?" Toby asked.

"Who?"

"He's a super hero and Kryptonite is deadly if he's exposed to it," Toby explained.

"Yes, that is a good analogy as iron is a substance that is known to be deadly to a fae," Jareth said, but when Toby looked confused, he offered clarification. "The fae is a race of beings from Underground. You asked me last night what I am, and that is what I am."

Toby nodded as he took a deep breath. "What should I do?"

"Perhaps all you need to do is close the door," Jareth said.

"Why don't I use the sheets on the bed to cover the bottom of the door so that it cannot affect this room?" Toby offered. When Jareth nodded, he went over to the bed and began pulling the covers off of it. He then carried them over to the lavatory door. "So the iron is why her connection to you was severed, right?"

Jareth nodded. "Yes, and this would explain the reason why neither my people nor myself could have contacted her during these wretched years she spent in captivity."

Toby pulled the door closed and reached for the covers and shoved them against the bottom of the door. "Is that why we could speak last night? I mean; because there was no iron in her room."

"Yes, at first I thought it was Sarah calling to me, but then I arrived and it was you. I was…"

"…Rude, crude, and socially unacceptable," Toby interrupted sarcastically as he finished moving the sheets beneath the door and stood up. Before Jareth could offer so much as a rebuttal, his next question emerged. "Is that better?"

"Immensely, thank you. In some minutes my magic will have fully returned and we can leave." His attention shifted down to Sarah, who still lay on the bed. "I only hope that coming Underground will help her to heal."

"She's going to be okay, isn't she?" Toby asked as he went over to where Jareth was now seated. "I mean; she looks so frail."

Jareth did not respond, instead he remained silent for several moments as he felt his powers returning. Wordlessly, he got to his feet before leaning over and scooping Sarah's body up in his arms. Once he straightened out, he looked at Toby. "Now then, to business. We are going to leave now, but obviously not in the manner in which we came." He extended his elbow towards Toby. "I want you to take hold of my sleeve and whatever you do, do not let go."

Toby nodded and obediently grabbed hold of the satin like fabric of the Goblin King's overcoat. "I know we did this before, but I'm nervous because there's a lot more at stake this time."

"I know," Jareth said as he extracted a, now familiar, crystal. "Are you quite ready, Toby?"

"W-where are you taking us exactly?" The teenager asked.

"As I have already said, we are going back to the Underground, but more specifically, to my castle beyond the Goblin City," Jareth said. "From there, you shall return to your home, while I try and help your sister to recover." With those words, the crystal was dropped. As it hit the tiled floor; Jareth, Sarah, and Toby vanished into thin air.

* * *

When Peter Harlow entered the room several minutes later, his eyes widened in surprise when he saw the bedding stuffed against the bottom of the lavatory door, and a pile of crystals covering the tiled floor next to the bed.

All traces of his former patient as well as her unusual visitors were gone.


	8. Chapter 7: Underground

_First of all, many thanks to all of you who have taken the time to read as well as review the story. I really appreciate your comments and encouragement and am so glad that you like what it is I am doing here. I do have a bit of good news for you. There will be a few more updates before I leave town to go on vacation. I will be gone for about three weeks in October._

_Please read and review, with my thanks. Individual review comments at the bottom of the page._

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**Chapter 7: Underground**

Jareth appeared with Sarah and Toby back at his castle. The throne room was filled with goblins and when they saw their king appearing, they broke into thunderous cheers.

"All hail, our king has returned," shouted one.

"Is that object in your arms for us?" Questioned another. His tongue was hanging out and Jareth could instinctively tell that this goblin figured the woman wrapped in the white blanket to be an edible delight. Shifting his focus, he continued to listen to the cheering for several more seconds.

"We have missed you, Your Majesty," a third goblin cried out.

"Me more than him," a fourth said with a wide grin, his brownish gray teeth showing.

Toby simply stood and watched as Jareth raised his head. "Shut up!" He shouted over their cries, the thunderous tone of his voice causing them to grow silent almost instantly.

"Now then, Grovel, tell me, has Prudence returned from the Bog of Eternal Stench with Hedgewart, Hommel…oh whatever his name is?"

"Not yet, Sire," Grovel answered.

"Alright, when she does return, I want to speak with her and her party straightaway," he instructed. "Any questions?"

"Just one," the goblin with his tongue hanging out asked.

"Well, what is it?"

"Are you going to eat that?"

Jareth looked at the throng of goblins and shook his head. "You will be doing the backstroke in the bog if you so much as harm a hair on her head. Have I made myself clear?"

In response to this, the goblins nodded obediently but scampered away muttering something about chickens and slingshots.

He looked at Toby, who was staring at the retreating subjects in wide eyed astonishment. "They need a strong hand," Jareth offered freely.

"Obviously scare tactics are effective here," Toby muttered. "But aren't you going to wake her up?"

"Not just yet, we must be vigilant," Jareth said firmly.

"This coming from you, the meanest king in this, or any, world," Toby mused.

"What are your means of comparison, Toby?" Jareth asked without skipping a beat.

"Touché," mused the teenager as they left the throne room and headed through a darkened doorway.

"I will be truthful with you," Jareth began as they rounded several passageways and entered a narrow corridor, his words suddenly echoing off the walls. "I've not yet figured out how I am going to proceed with this. Part of your sister's trials appear to be behind her, but a vast number of them still lie before her. I am left to conclude that this is all because of that horrible place." He paused. "One thing is blatantly clear, Sarah cannot go back until she heals from her experiences there."

"Yeah, I pretty much figured that out when I found out she was being detained," Toby said. "But, there's still something I don't get."

"What might that be?"

"You are talking about sending her back, but…" his voice faltered. "…You love her."

"Yes, I do, but she has already rejected me once," Jareth admitted. "Who's to say that she will not do it again? Why should this time be any different?"

"Maybe because 'this time', she won't have much of a choice. She can't go back there," Toby said.

"Why do you say that?" Jareth asked. "Is that not what you had wished for?"

"Well yeah, but think about it. If she shows up at my house, they will throw her back into the hospital without even hesitating." He took a deep breath. "Do you even know what power of attorney is?"

As the Goblin King shook his head, Toby rubbed his hands together as he contemplated the simplest means of explanation. "Essentially, it means that my parents have complete legal control over her. To them, she's completely incapable of deciding for herself what it is she's going to do. In other words, no matter what she says, no one is going to listen to her. They will go and throw her head first back into the loony bin and we'll be back at square one. Only this time, instead of just going in there to rescue her, we'll have to deal with Doctor Harlow and how he probably remembers our role in Sarah's first escape."

"Aboveground is very strange, indeed," Jareth stated.

"You're telling me," Toby responded. "You probably knew from the start that the only place where she's really safe…" His voice trailed off as a goblin ran past, his tongue hanging down to his chest and loud slurping sounds emerging. He swallowed, but continued. "…Is here."

Jareth nodded as they reached a dungeon-like room. There were no windows, but the place felt very much the same as the one they had just freed Sarah from. When he stopped walking, Toby looked at him with a question looming.

Instead of immediately responding to the unasked inquiry, Jareth took a deep breath, all the while trying to offer his own brand of clarification. "You may not understand my motives, but what I must do is recreate that other place."

"Why?" Toby asked. "I don't think she would even want to be stuck there. Not that I would blame her, that place looked like hell on earth."

"Yes, but can you imagine what would happen to her if she woke up here? She would see goblins chasing chickens and monsters running amuck and would feel as though she has been banished to the underworld," Jareth explained as he laid her on a makeshift cot. Once he had straightened out, he conjured a crystal and allowed it to rest idly on his hand.

"Okay, maybe you're right, but why make it look like she's back in the hospital?"

Jareth took a deep breath. "Because that is what is familiar to her. As deplorable as it may be for the both of us, that is the only place she really knows."

"You mean, after ten years have passed, she could really get scared of being somewhere else?" Toby asked.

"That is a possibility," Jareth argued. "Consider how you reacted to me last night and you were not in an unfamiliar place. Toby, you were positively terrified, and yes I will admit I was quite frightening."

"You didn't hurt me, though, you just – scared me a little."

"Only a little?" Jareth asked skeptically.

Toby shrugged, "Okay, maybe a little bit more than that."

"Well, try to imagine how you might have felt if you saw me after having spent ten years locked away in a prison as is the case with Sarah. There is nothing familiar to her, everything is strange and frightening and before she adapts to the Underground, she must learn to accept the reality and truth for what it is. If she does not, then everything she encounters will terrify her. I may not be aware of power of attorney or the chemical components of coffee, but to look at her, I can see how delicate she is."

To emphasize this point, he motioned towards the cot where Sarah now lay. Instead of being stretched out, she had curled herself into the fetal position and was hugging her arms around her body.

"I hate the thought of her being so weak and defenseless," Toby said honestly.

"If she was, as you say, weak and defenseless, then the torment she experienced would have destroyed her. It was her strength that kept her alive, thus proving that she is not what you think."

"Okay, so how can we help her?"

"We cannot do anything, I'm afraid. It will all be up to her. She must learn to accept that she can be free. No one, not even me, has power over her, that I learned all those years ago. I had intended a task for her, something that would test her courage and endurance, but in this present condition, I don't believe that she can fulfill any such thing."

"Why?" Toby asked.

"Perhaps because any circumstance that tests ones endurance, generally is demonstrative of how industrious they are and how well they react to things that frighten them," Jareth said. "When Sarah was here before, she ran the labyrinth, and she bested it. No matter what challenges I placed before her, she overcame them. Her mind is presently unclear and shadowed in fear. I am certain that in time she will be able to run the labyrinth again, but first she must come to understand that the Underground is real."

As he spoke, he allowed the crystal to fall to the ground, the room changed from a dark and dismal dwelling to an exact copy of the room at the hospital where Sarah had been kept. Everything was the same, right down the starched linens. Jareth then turned and went over to the door leading into the lavatory.

"What are you doing?" Toby asked as he followed the Goblin King and discovered that he was staring at an exact copy of the metal looking glass. Seeing it, the teenager shook his head in disbelief. "I thought that thing weakened you."

"That thing, as you called it, does not have any iron in it. It is entirely made up of components native to the Underground. It cannot bring harm to myself or anyone who lives here," Jareth explained. "When Sarah uses it, then it will serve as a reminder to her of the time she spent here. Through it, some of her memories will return and she may actually recall other significant details of her life that she has been forced to forget during the last decade."

For his part, Toby continued to take in the room, before looking at Jareth. "But, I still think she'll go mad in here."

"In time, she will begin to understand," Jareth said, but took a deep breath as he regarded the wary teenager. "Trust me when I say that I would rather die a thousand deaths than to lock her away in this room, but it is what I fear I must do. This room may serve as her current reality, but in time, she will have to remember her past. Through it, she will acknowledge the existence of her courage. Perhaps then she will begin to make the choices she should have been granted ten years ago."

As he spoke, they returned to Sarah's side and Toby glanced down at his sister. "What must I do while all this is happening?"

"You must return Aboveground, Toby," he said.

"And what are you going to do?" Toby asked. "I mean; you can't just appear to her looking like that, it would probably freak her out."

"That is unfortunately true," Jareth said and making quick work of a crystal, his appearance changed and he was now in the guise of Peter Harlow. "Would this work?"

Toby's mouth fell open and he stared. "How'd you do that?"

"The crystals can change the physical structure of many things, it is merely a matter of instigating the magic to do as I say," Jareth explained.

"You make it sound simple," Toby said.

Jareth smiled slightly. "Not simple, at least not by Aboveground standards, but here it is quite natural and normal for us to change our appearance. I have only changed mine once or twice. It takes a great deal of concentrated effort."

Toby looked at him. "You're really going to send me back, aren't you? I mean; you probably know that wish I could stay and learn more about you. You're the coolest person I ever met, even if you have the temperament of a drill sergeant."

Jareth took a deep breath. "I will be watching over you through the power of these crystals and I will make sure that no trouble befalls you."

"Why?" Toby could not help but ask. "You were pretty mean last night and now your behavior is really confusing me. Are you trying to make me trust you so that I know Sarah will be alright?"

"Why do you question?" Jareth asked as his calm demeanor dissipated. "I could easily lose my temper with you and tip you head first into the Bog of Eternal Stench. Would that be preferable?"

"No," Toby said, his voice laced in typically teenage attitude. "Just forget it. I still have questions and no answers and that scares me. I mean; what about that doctor? He'll probably remember what we did and I'll catch all kinds of hell from my parents for it. No matter what I do, that's what I get anyway; whether it's from them or you."

"That doctor's fate is not any of my concern, and it should not be any of yours. Considering everything that Sarah has been through, it surprises me that you are speaking of such trivial nonsense."

"Well, you try being a kid there and see how it feels," Toby said bitterly. "I don't know how children are treated here, but where I come from, we are told how we're supposed to feel about everything and that we should be 'seen and not heard'."

"Rest assured that if this man does tell anyone about the three of us disappearing into thin air, that people will become skeptical. Abovegrounders are like that, they sometimes do not know or realize what is right before them." He paused. "For now, you must return home. If for any reason you need to contact me, you may do so through the mirror in your sister's room."

"How?"

"You know my name, Toby, you also know my title, just call to me and I will hear you. It generally helps if you formulate your words to 'I wish'."

"But, what if something happens and you need to contact me first? How do I know it's you and not an overactive imagination?"

"If I need to see or speak with you, then I will go to where you are," Jareth said. "You will not see me in this manner, instead you will see a white colored owl."

"An owl?" Toby asked.

Instead of responding to the boy's question, Jareth regarded him, his mismatched eyes laced in intensity. "Toby, you must not speak of me or your contact to the Underground with anyone; not your parents, teachers, or friends. What we are doing is very important if she is to ultimately decide to return Aboveground."

Toby nodded. "Okay, but before you send me back, I do have a question."

"Alright."

"Did you answer my wish because you wanted to help me, or were you only concerned for Sarah? I mean it's okay if you were…" Toby asked, his voice trailing. He knew he was repeating this question for the umpteenth time, but something embedded inside him knew that the Goblin King's answer was important.

"What do you believe?" Jareth asked.

"I don't know," the teenager said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "I'd like to think that I was important enough a friend to have you come to me as well. It's stupid, but I don't have a lot of friends."

"Well, there's your answer," Jareth said honestly. "Regardless of what I feel for Sarah, I do view you as a friend as well. It was you who had the courage to make a wish as well as put an end to my worries and concerns about why Sarah had ceased contact with my subjects. That is quite a selfless act, is it not?"

"I don't know," he said shrugging his shoulders as he stared down at Sarah's sleeping form. After several moments, he raised his head and looked at Jareth. "You won't let anything bad happen to her, will you?"

"No," Jareth shook his head. "I will make certain that she stays safe."

The teenager nodded. "Okay, then I guess I'm ready to go back. You will tell me if there is any change."

"You have my word," the Goblin King responded as he produced another crystal and used it to send Toby Williams home.

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_Author's notes, cont.:_

_Rageful Jewel, for some reason your review of Chapter 6 really gave me an idea on the Doctor's fate. That will come up in a later chapter, but your review inspired it, so thanks for that._

_notwritten, thanks for the continued supportive words on this story. Glad you are enjoying it and hope that you will continue to enjoy._

_Nyllewell, yes the overall feel of the story is sort of melancholy. I did think initially that Sarah's being locked up was unrealistic, but I did like how the idea sort of make her forget everything and then as an adult trying to recapture what happened during her youth._

_GottaDance88, thanks for your comments about my portrayal of Jareth. He is a very difficult character to write. On the one hand I don't want to make him to cruel, but on the other I felt that he needed a softer side, and it is fun to write him as though teetering back and forth on how to behave. It's one of the dynamics that I really liked of his character._

_NeverEndingStory101, WhiteInnocence, liliana the dark, xEvilAngel56x, hazlgrnLizzy, and tichtich2, many thanks for your comments and suggestions. I do not intend to rush this story, but am glad that you are reading and hope you will continue to enjoy._


	9. Chapter 8: Complicating Circumstances

_Hi everyone. Many thanks for the reviews and the continued support of this story. This will be the last update for a while, as I am getting ready to go on vacation and will be away from here for close to three weeks. I hope that you will all continue to enjoy this, and perhaps while away, you can read some of my other stories._

_Hope you enjoy this latest installment. I have enjoyed writing it. Please let me know what you think._

_Have a happy autumn time, and I'll see you back here on or around the 23rd of October. Take care everyone.

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**Chapter 8: Complicating Circumstances**

At the moment Toby went home, Peter Harlow was still standing in Sarah's now empty hospital room. He shook his head in profound disbelief as he went over to the small pile of glitter that was still covering the tiled floor.

Crouching down, he leaned forward and allowed his fingers to brush along the silvery substance. Questions consumed him as soon as he felt the coolness of what looked to be shards of broken glass. He turned his hand over and looked at the small fragments that now covered his fingertips.

"This is strange," he uttered under his breath as he shook his head in profound disbelief. If something like this had happened to anyone else, he would have resolved that they were mentally ill. Yet, here he stood, alone and looking around the empty room.

He contemplated calling security, but pondered what he would say to them. After all, a patient escaping the hospital's psychiatric ward from a windowless room would seem pretty far-fetched. He knew that he had locked the door and if anyone had actually left the room, they would have been spotted in the busy corridor.

There was no denying that contrary to all of the precautionary measures that he had taken, that this was indeed unsettling. Who would believe that a patient had simply vanished into thin air? What would the higher-ups say if he reported to them that Sarah Williams had disappeared.

Without thinking of what he was doing or why he was even doing it, he took the notebook from his pocket and used it as a makeshift dustpan and collected the glittery mass that covered the floor.

Once he had managed this, he extracted a small bag from his other pocket and allowed the crystals to fall into it. Finishing this task, he closed the bag and stuck it in the pocket of his lab coat. Getting to his feet, he started to walk towards the door leading out into the hallway. As he exited the room, one of the newer nurses, a woman by the name of Vanessa Jameson approached him.

"Doctor Harlow, is everything alright?" She asked, when she noticed the strange glittery substance that covered one of his hands. As her question filled his ears, she ran her hand through her dirty blonde, shoulder length hair. She figured that judging from his outward appearance, it was clear that inquiring was the best option. "Where did that glitter come from?"

"I don't really know," he said honestly. "I found it on the floor in Sarah Williams' room just now."

"How did it get there?" Vanessa asked.

"I don't know," he said. "I went back in and the room was empty except for this stuff."

"So, where is your patient?" Vanessa asked, her voice instead of sounding as though making an inquiry, it emerged in quite a demanding tone. It was as though she knew something that he did not.

Peter took a deep breath and hesitated before releasing it and offering her an honest response. "I can't really say, because I honestly don't know."

"How could you not know?" She asked. "She is supposed to be in her room, isn't she?"

"Perhaps, but after I left her with her visitors, I went back to my office to retrieve some paperwork for another case. When I returned to her room to inform them that their allowed ten minutes had expired, the room was empty, and I found this strange glitter on the floor. There was no sign of Sarah or her two visitors. The bedding was completely removed from the bed and shoved up against the bathroom door. Aside from what was on the floor, the room was completely barren. I cannot explain what had happened. I can only affirm that I had locked the door from the outside, so no one could have gotten in or out during the time that they were there."

Instead of immediately responding, Vanessa nodded, but got up from the desk where she had been working. She rounded the desk and inched her way over to him so that she could whisper in his ear. "I know what may have happened," she said as a strange look of urgency suddenly crossed her face.

"Were you near the room at any point during their visit?" He asked.

She cast a quick glance down the hall before shaking her head and looking back at him. "I was never near her room, Doctor Harlow, but I believe that we need to speak, it is of the utmost urgency."

"Alright," he said, his voice taking on a more casual stance. "Shoot."

"We cannot speak here, we must do so in private," she said.

Peter nodded and they started to make their way down the hallway in the direction of his office. There was something in this woman's stance that insisted that he tell her everything he knew, but as she had indicated, privacy was perhaps the best option.

Of course, he did not know too terribly much about the situation except that his patient had vanished through rather mysterious means.

Now he pondered if he could even trust Vanessa Jameson with this confidential information. It was clear that in most cases, he would not have trusted anyone, much less a part-time nurse. However, Peter felt as though she knew something that might explain what had happened to Sarah. Perhaps he would feel better when it came time for each of them to put their cards on the table.

Within minutes, they had reached the office and he opened the door and motioned with his hand for her to enter. Once she had gone in, he followed before pulling the door closed behind them.

Appearance wise, the office was a pretty typical one for a doctor specializing in psychiatrics. On one side of it, several mahogany colored shelves literally covered the walls. These were filled to capacity with books and other periodicals. In front of several rows of bookshelves, a matching desk and chair were placed. This was where Peter did the bulk of his paperwork and somehow, his lackadaisical style was evident in the manner in which he kept his office.

The desk itself was a mess of manila colored files, which were stacked on one side of it. Amidst them, tabs in various colors peered out in a strange form of organization. On another corner of the large table, stacks of medical journals and periodicals rested. Meshed amidst all of that were several framed photographs of his family.

The desk extended to the end of one of the bookshelves and a large green colored sofa and matching chair were placed in front of an antique-like window. Although the overall place looked to be in a state of disarray, the window acted as a mirror to the outside world and the sill was completely clear of clutter.

As if the emphasize the casual air in which he worked, Peter pulled off his lab coat to reveal a simple suit and tie. Freed from the offending garment, he tossed it unenthusiastically across the desk and allowed his body to collapse into the chair.

He was not about to admit it, but the morning's events had worn him out completely. He watched and waited for Vanessa to take a seat on the sofa. Once she did, she allowed her eyes to close briefly as though she was collecting her thoughts.

When at last she opened them, she looked at Peter and spoke, her voice soft, but her words leaving absolutely no room for doubt. "I know where Sarah Williams is, Doctor Harlow. I knew the moment I saw that tall man with blond hair walking behind you in the hallway earlier."

"You mean Toby Williams' cousin?" Peter asked.

"I do not believe that this man is Toby's cousin," Vanessa said honestly. "In fact, I have a very difficult time believing that this man is of any relation to any of the patients here." As she spoke, she reached over and touched his hand where several of the crystal shards still remained. "What you have stuck to your hand are small remnants of fae magic."

"Fae magic?" Peter looked at her incredulously. "Nurse, this is just glitter."

Vanessa shook her head. "No, it's more, and it explains where Sarah Williams disappeared to. You say that the bedding was stuck up against the bathroom door, correct?"

"Yes," he responded.

"Was the door closed?" She asked.

"Yes," he nodded. "I couldn't understand why this was the case, but the bed was completely stripped, and the door leading into the bathroom was closed."

"Did you look inside?" She asked.

"No, but I listened and could not even hear a sound," he said.

"The lavatory doesn't matter in the slightest, they were closing the door because of the looking glass inside the room."

"The looking glass?" He asked.

"Yes, anything made from iron alloys depletes their magic," she said. "A fae cannot do anything when exposed to it. My guess is that she wouldn't have even been inside."

"What do you mean?" He asked. "To me, it sounds like you're sitting here telling strange stories. Let me assure you that I do know the difference between fiction and reality. After all, it is my chosen profession to be able to distinguish between the two."

Vanessa nodded. "I am not doubting your level of sanity or your occupational choices, Doctor Harlow. What I am telling you is that what you have here is a form of magic that can only be found in one place."

"Where?" He asked, his throat dry.

"The Underground," she responded.

"Under the ground?" Peter asked. "I've heard tell of the mole people who live beneath the subway system. Is that what you're referring to?"

"No, I mean another world or as you might call it, an alternate state of reality," she said calmly.

"That's science fiction, Nurse, it is not proven to be real," he argued.

"Perhaps, but we are not discussing realms of possibility," Vanessa said. "What has happened is your patient has vanished into thin air. Now, if you wish to find Sarah Williams, then I must tell you everything that I know and what I do know is quite extensive. Therefore, what I say cannot leave this office."

Peter looked at her, his face drawn in skepticism. "I don't follow any of this. I mean; I should be on the phone with the family and the police and having security scrounging the grounds looking for Sarah. That's what we should be doing, not discussing alternate realities."

"I understand your concerns, but what I'm trying to tell you is that you won't find her here," Vanessa said shaking her head. "You could call the National Guard in if you wanted to, but the truth is, you would have no luck finding her."

"You mean I would not find her here at the hospital?" He asked.

"No, I mean you would not find her anywhere in this world; she is, simply, _not here_," Vanessa insisted. "Trust me on that. Now, as strange as it sounds, I know you have questions. No one can disappear and leave fragments of crystal on the floor. In this reality it cannot happen, but it does happen when a fae traverses between their reality and this one."

"Even if what you are saying is true and could actually happen, how could Sarah just vanish?" He asked.

"It is not her who holds that form of magic," she explained. "Sarah could not vanish without a little help. Now, you may or may not believe it, but what I am saying is the truth. I have met Jareth, the Goblin King. It was many years ago, but it might as well have been yesterday as my memory of him is quite vivid."

"The boy said that his 'cousin's' name was Jareth," Peter mused.

"Yes, it is, as he is the holder of great magic," Vanessa said. "You see, he can do many things with it, one of which is to transport solid matter across time and space and into another realm. The remains of these crystals are the remnants of the Goblin King's magic, of that I am almost certain. If they are exposed to iron or just about any metal compound, then they will turn black almost immediately."

"But, it's just glitter or shards of glass, it can't change, that's chemically impossible," he objected.

"Try it then, take some of those pieces and put them up against something made of iron and see for yourself," Vanessa said firmly.

Wordlessly, Peter got to his feet and retrieved the package of crystals that he had collected in Sarah's room. He carried them across the room and over to a metal cup that was placed on one of the bookshelves. He took a deep breath as he poured some of the contents of the bag into the cup, closed the bag and stuffed it back into the pocket of his pants. For several moments, he stared into the cup, all the while waiting as the color turned from a shimmering silver to black.

Taking a deep breath, he turned back around and walked back over to the chair and seated himself, his gaze now on her. "You were right, they are black now." He showed her the cup as well as the contents. "How did you know all of this?"

Vanessa took a deep breath. "I was born in the Underground in the year 1607, that is the year as would be noted here. I was born to fae parents, my father Xander was a knight in the royal guard and my mother, Haley was the royal tutor. I was a young girl when she took on the task of tutoring Jareth. He was primed and taught the ways of the fae, but he was also raised as heir to the throne ruling over the Goblin City as well as far beyond that."

Peter listened with apt interest as she continued speaking, her voice firm, but filled with sadness. "Jareth was quite bored with the prospect of becoming Goblin King. In fact, one of his greatest aspirations was to one day become High King of the fae. This never happened, as the desire would ultimately fade and accept would come to recognize and accept his ultimate fate. When he became King, he came to the understanding that the goblins were very simple creatures and accepted his rule wholeheartedly. Without him as their king, chaos and disarray would be the ultimate result. Jareth discovered that he possessed a strong hand over his subjects and with their help and a good deal of magic, the great labyrinth was constructed. This was at about the same time that I was banished to the Aboveground."

"How did that come about?" Peter asked. "And how did you meet Jareth?"

"Both of your questions have the same answer. I was very young the day I met the Goblin King. I remember arriving at the castle and stepping into his throne room. The room was a catastrophe; goblins were running here and there, chickens flying about and uproarious cackles of laughter permeated the air. Jareth was sitting arrogantly on the throne, one leg draped casually over the side. He held a scepter in his hand, the end of it, a crystal about the size of a golf ball. My heart skipped a beat when I saw him. He looked so handsome and powerful sitting there. His magic could stretch far beyond anyone's expectations and he had captured my imagination with it. I often wished that I could wield magic in the same confident manner that he did."

"Did you love him?"

"Yes, I did, but he broke my heart," she nodded sadly. "He was very cold and distant towards me. Perhaps he figured me to be like all the others; vain and petty, but also beneath him. I learned from my experience in meeting him that the one thing he enjoyed was to use people and to play with their minds and hearts. He could do so in the same exact manner that he did when juggling about his magic crystals."

"What exactly happened to you?" Peter asked, his question indicative that he was now drawn into her words and fascinated by her story.

"As I stood before his throne, I remember Jareth getting to his feet and looking at me. I could somehow tell that he was trying to remember who I was or where he had seen me before. The acknowledgement was there, but then he spoke, and it proved that he did know me. He knew me as the daughter of his teacher and one who was considered beneath him. 'Vaney, Vaney tra la la,' he said as the goblins began to laugh. They always laughed. I looked at him and said with more courage than I felt, 'My name is Vanessa, not Vaney, and it would behoove you to remember that'.

"At any rate, he approached me, his hand he extended until his fingers were just beneath my chin. 'I may call you whatever it is I wish,' he said as he raised my face until he was looking me squarely in the eyes. 'Behoove me indeed,' he said as he released the hold he had on me. His words were as cold as his manner. Once he had done that, he smiled, his expression somewhat sinister. 'How about a challenge, Vaney? If you win, I will give you anything you wish'.

"At that moment, my heart was blinded, perhaps because he was so handsome and I knew immediately what it was I would have wished for. Of course, because of that, I readily agreed, although I did not hear the rest of his bargain. 'If I win,' he had said, 'you will be banished from the Underground forever'."

Peter looked at her. "Banished?"

She nodded. "Yes. To him it was a game, but for me it was my future. At any rate; I agreed and he took me into the Escher room. This room consisted of massive staircases formed in all directions. It was filled with the very thing that scared the daylights out of me. You see, I was afraid of heights and falling, and that room was the embodiment of all of my greatest fears. By then it was too late for me to retract my words, so I tried to forge my way through the room, but my fears won out, and ultimately I lost the challenge. Without any sort of kindness or understanding, Jareth sent me here. My memories of my home were left intact, but my ability to do magic or conjure my way back has been taken away."

"So, if what you are saying is true, then Sarah has been abducted by this Goblin King. Is there not a way I can get her back?" Peter asked.

"There is a way, but you must be willing to journey to the castle beyond the Goblin City. You must traverse a vast labyrinth and you must confront the Goblin King."

"How?" Peter asked. "I don't even know where this place is, much less how to get there."

"Then you must find the boy who was with him, for it is he who can tell you what you need to know," Vanessa said. She took a deep breath as she stood up and started to turn away from him. "I believe that he has been brainwashed by the Goblin King, but it is perhaps because I do not believe that Jareth's intentions are good. Given my experiences with him, I must conclude that Sarah is nothing more than a tool for his amusement. You have seen the shards of crystal turn from silver to black, and you know that I have no reason to lie to you. I tell you this, you must not give up in your quest to find her."

As she reached the door, she stopped and turned around before facing him one last time. "I know that this sounds hard to believe. After all, the thought of another world existing is not logical; it somehow contradicts everything that you have ever been told. Yet, it is all true. Sarah Williams is in grave danger, the only safe place for her is here. When you find her, she must be made to believe that, otherwise she will die."

As soon as she disappeared outside and closed the door behind her, an evil gleam filled her eyes as a sardonic smile spread across her face. "Jareth is not the only one who can speak with a forked tongue," she muttered under her breath. "He will suffer for his treacherous words and forcing me to leave my home. When he falls, the Goblin City will be in ruins and I will take over and rule in his place!"

She glanced over at the door leading into Peter Harlow's office. It was more than clear to her that he had been influenced by magic. His eyes somehow carried the look of one who is easily swayed, perhaps she had used the remnants of that to her benefit. If she had anything to say on this matter, he would be her key back into the Underground, her life as a banished fae would end, and revenge against the Goblin King would be hers at long last.

The only sacrifice in this plan was Sarah. The young human would most likely die in the crossfire. If it did not happen there, then it would come about here.

To Vanessa, none of this even mattered, because after ten years in the hospital, Sarah was pretty much dead anyway.

The question that still ravaged her mind was why Jareth had gone to such lengths at getting Sarah out of the hospital in the first place. This was one question that she hoped Peter Harlow would be able to find the answer to.

Given the psychiatrist's determination, this would perhaps prove easier than she anticipated.


	10. Chapter 9: Sarah's New Home

_This chapter is considerably shorter, but I wanted to get something posted. I had intended to come back onto the site around October 24, but I came down with the flu, got stranded in Portland and was not able to come home until Halloween. Writing was the last thing on my mind at that moment._

_I ask you to forgive me for that. I will be working on this story now that I am home, but wanted to get a new installment posted. It is not as long, but there will be longer chapters. Please let me know what you think.

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**Chapter 9: Sarah's New Home**

With Sarah's brother now safely Aboveground, Jareth's attention returned to the slumbering young woman. He had been standing in her room for several minutes but instead of moving away from her side, he took a deep breath and released it slowly. Concluding that she would probably remain asleep for awhile, he extracted from his waistcoat pocket a strangely shaped watch. Staring down at the thirteen numbers that covered the object's face, he released another unhappy sigh as he returned it.

He remembered how her body had rested limp and practically lifeless in his arms just before he and Toby had brought her Underground. As he had carried her, he could not deny the warmth he felt as her gentle breath wafted up against one side of his neck. The sensations that had resulted from that simple action had made him feel weaker than a mirror composed entirely of iron.

Sarah Williams had a magic about her, even after all these years.

Jareth remained where he had been standing for several minutes and simply stared down at her. Moments passed and he wordlessly allowed his body to lower into the chair as he conjured a crystal. With it now resting in one hand, he closed his eyes as the object expertly moved over and under his extended hand. It was as though the object possessed a will of its own.

Seconds later, the movements ceased and he opened his eyes before reaching over and lightly touching one side of her face with the fingertips of his other hand.

Instead of looking at her, he watched as the crystal's color shifted and abruptly darkened. Noting this, he took a staggering breath as his words emerged. "Please let me in, Precious," he implored her, his voice barely audible. "I want to help you."

In response to his plea, the crystal did not change, in fact, the present color went a shade murkier, thus leaving the Goblin King encased in absolute frustration. She had blocked him from her conscience, and it seemed as though nothing could have assisted in bringing him into her world. His eyes slid shut again as he reached the unfathomable conclusion that his magic could not penetrate the shell that seemed to surround her.

Eventually, he allowed the object to disappear and he moved his hand away from her temple, the contact he had initiated, now broken. "There's so much I wanted to tell you," he spoke, his words emerging as more or less a confession. "I fear that unless I say it now, I will lose my will to speak of it and will not be able to once you have awakened."

His words stopped for several seconds as she rolled onto her side and moved her head towards the soft resonance of his voice. Jareth took a deep breath, all the while trying to collect his thoughts. Once he had done so, his next words emerged.

"After you returned Aboveground all those years ago, I was rather angry with you," he admitted. "I thought of how I would get even, if I would say or do something that might have harmed you in the very way your rejection had devastated me. I recalled watching as you and your friends celebrated before I had flown away. After some years had passed, I realized that I could not bear it anymore. It was as though some cruel force of nature was rubbing defeat into my face. Perhaps this emotion emerged because I had never experienced or expected it. It was soon after that when your knightly friend, Sir Didymus, returned Underground. He informed me that, although I had been quite cruel to you, he had always known that I evoked fear in you. He went on to say that through that internalized fear, there existed no possible means for me to win your heart."

Jareth took a deep breath as his words continued. "It was the truth and time and again, I recalled how you, this brave young girl, had discarded her costumes and braved the Labyrinth. You exceeded all possible expectation." He reached for her hand and when he found it, he allowed his fingers to wrap gently around it. "Where is that brave girl now, Sarah? Does she still exist?"

As if to answer his inquiry, Jareth suddenly felt a slight squeeze being exerted against his hand. It was as though Sarah was trying to unconsciously give him the answers he sought to find. Yet, after one glance at her motionless face, he could see that she was still asleep, her expression unchanging and her eyes never opening.

"Precious?" His soft question emerged. When he received no response, he continued speaking. "I would never have allowed you to get hurt when you were here before; not even when I sent the cleaners after you. I may have done many things during those thirteen hours; I may have frightened or drugged you with the peach, but I would never have brought real harm to you…"

At that moment, a soft knock resonated throughout the room and Jareth raised his head. He said nothing until the sound beyond it emerged a second time. Wordlessly, he released her hand and stood up. With a fleeting glance towards Sarah, he walked with weighted steps towards the door.

Opening it, he found himself looking down at Prudence and Hoggle.

The dwarf was several steps behind the goblin female, his expression laced in uncertainty.

"Prudence, Hedgewart," Jareth spoke their names in turn as he stepped out into the corridor and closed the door behind him.

"It's Hoggle," the dwarf protested, the annoyance in his words somehow concealing the fear he still had of the Goblin King.

Jareth, instead of responding to the dwarf's words, looked at Prudence. "My thanks to you, Prudence."

"Sorry?" She spoke, her head raising and her brown eyes met his mismatched ones.

Jareth took a deep breath, but keeping his patience in check, he rested a hand on her shoulder, the touch light. "I said, 'thank you'."

"He don't say that often, does he?" Hoggle asked as he looked for a trace of embarrassment in Prudence's face. Seeing none, he looked back over at Jareth. "Ya feeling well, Your Majesty?"

"No, not particularly," Jareth said. As the words filled the corridor, both creatures took a step backwards. When the Goblin King was not feeling in good spirits, that generally meant trouble for them.

Prudence raised her head. "May I t-take my leave, Sire?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"No you may not, I need to speak with you both, but here is not the right place for talking," Jareth said. Without so much as hesitating, he produced a crystal and seconds later, the three of them found themselves just beyond the walls of the Labyrinth. The area was somewhat isolated, and this only added to Prudence and Hoggle's fears as to what the Goblin King would be doing next.

Instead of making sure that they had acclimated themselves to these new surroundings, Jareth took a deep breath and released it slowly. "I suppose you are wondering why I sent Prudence to find you, Hogwart?"

"It's Hoggle, and yes, I was sort of wonderin' why, Sire," came the response.

"When was the last time you had contact with the Aboveground girl?"

"Been years, I'm 'fraid," Hoggle said sorrowfully. "She forgot all 'bout us. We don't speak of 'er anymore. It was not just 'cause you forbade it, but it broke my heart to speak of the little lady."

"She's back…" Jareth said plainly.

"…This ain't no time for games," Hoggle interrupted vehemently before Jareth could so much as continue speaking.

"This time it is no game, Hoggle," the Goblin King said, this time intentionally addressing the dwarf by his rightful name. "Sarah Williams is now in the Underground, but she is hardly the person any of us would remember." He paused for several seconds as he tried to collect his thoughts. He was now grateful that Hoggle was not interrupting him again. After all, his patience only went so far.

He inhaled slowly and clasped his hands together. "Right now, I'm in a position where I must ask you both for your help."

"No commands or peaches?" Hoggle asked skeptically.

"No, I'd rather ask for your willingness to help and hope that you will say 'yes'," Jareth said. "I know it seems rather strange to hear me speak in this fashion, but I am finding that it is easier to instill cooperation as opposed to physical threats of the bog."

"What must I do, Your Majesty?" Prudence asked.

"You may not understand why, but I am asking that you allow me to change your appearance for a time," Jareth began. "I must give you the characteristics of a young woman from the Aboveground."

"That's a lot of changing, Sire," Hoggle said, taking note of Prudence's unsavory appearance. She was a goblin through and through, complete with warts and that characteristic foul odor.

"Indeed," Jareth said, but seeing the fear that lined her eyes, he took a deep breath. "When the task is competed, you will be restored to the way you are now, you have my word on that."

"I'm frightened," she confessed.

He reached down and took her wrinkled hand between both of his, but instead of immediately speaking, he watched as a tremor of fear encased her. "I can see that, but there is no one else in this kingdom that I would entrust this particular task to. If you don't wish to assist me, then speak now and no harm shall befall you."

"What about the bog or your wrath?" Prudence whispered as she brushed a hand through her hair. The events that transpired just before she had been sent to fetch Hoggle were clearly still on her mind. "Have I truly a choice?"

"Yes, you do," Jareth said as he backed away and produced a crystal. This he began to juggle about in his hands as his next words emerged. "I can send you back to the throne room if you would prefer."

Prudence looked at him still somewhat perplexed. There was something almost humane in his words and stance and this caused Hoggle and her to exchange confused glances. It was clear that both subjects were aware of how the king always did as he pleased as opposed to formulating his words as a request.

"Are you well, Your Majesty?" Hoggle eventually spoke, his question emerging before Prudence could offer any sort of response.

Jareth did not respond, instead he looked at Prudence and waited for her to say something. The crystal had ceased its movement and was now balancing on the tips of his fingers.

After what seemed like an eternity, the goblin girl nodded. "I'm not sure it's such a good idea, but I am willing."

Hoggle looked at Prudence. "Are you sure about this?" He asked. Instead of his question being directed at her, it was directed to the Goblin King.

Wordlessly, Jareth raised the hand that balanced the crystal over the head of the goblin. As he allowed it to lower, the object began to reflect light. The collection of it centered itself on the female subject and as it grew brighter in intensity, her appearance began to change.

Seconds later, she found herself staring down at her hands and watching as her fingers grew longer and thinner. The warts that covered the skin popped like bubbles. Within seconds, Prudence became much taller, her stature several centimeter's shorter than that of the Goblin King, the mossy like hair that covered her head now darkening and taking on a dark brown hue.

Still staring at her hands, she raised one and touched her face. Gasping, she looked at the Goblin King through frightened brown eyes.

For his part, Hoggle stood and stared at Prudence before shifting his gaze and looking at Jareth. "Why did you change her, Your Majesty?" He asked.

"She will be the only person who will have any contact with Sarah for the time being," Jareth said, his words laced in simplicity.

"I don't understand," Hoggle said. "If that is so, then why do you need me?"

"You will see her, through the mirror in her room," Jareth said. "It must be handled delicately, but I can very easily imagine you getting Ludo and Didymus together to stage a rescue attempt. I wanted to make it clear to you that I intended to help her, so that you and your friends would not turn around and do something foolish."

Hoggle responded with a simple shift of his weight and a shrug of his shoulders.

What neither of them expected was for Prudence to slowly back away from them, cover her face, and flee.


	11. Chapter 10: Finding Common Ground

_Before I post this, I wanted to comment on a review I received about this story. I am sincerely hoping that El Scribe is still reading and has not gotten turned off by the overall premise or presentation of this story. I like what you said in your review, and I do understand the necessity for realism. I also intend on addressing your comments in later chapters as they are pertinent to the overall story. _

_However, with that said, I felt that instead of rewriting the whole first few chapters, I would incorporate them in later chapters. In redoing the parts, I feared that some of the initial ideas I was trying to present here would get lost in the rewrite. Sometimes there can too much description and too much information. When that happens, the overall feel of a story gets lost somehow. It was for that reason that I have the 'goons' in the first bit returning with the medication, as well as Peter 'Promising' to not force her to take anymore. There is a reason for it, just stick with me, because I have plans for this stuff in later chapters and I have made note of what I want to do and where this is going. I merely ask that you be patient while I work through them and try and present them in due course. Thanks again to everyone for their reviews.

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**Chapter 10: Finding Common Ground**

The Goblin King exchanged weary glances with Hoggle as they watched Prudence's retreating back. "What was that all about?" He muttered impatiently under his breath.

Contrary to his trying to respond in a tolerant manner with this particular subject, he was quickly losing his cool. There was no denying that he had more worries than he was willing to admit at this point, and he hoped that Sarah's old friend would not elaborate on them.

He further knew that Sarah would eventually awaken and that he would have to find a way to initiate contact with her. Now that Prudence was running away from a simple task, this only succeeded in complicating matters to the extreme.

It was true that she had displayed reluctance about accepting the task, but still she had given her word, and he expected it to be upheld. In the back of his mind, he knew that there still existed a great deal he needed to find out before he could put the wheels in motion and help Sarah.

For the first time since his initial contact with Toby, did Jareth realize the possibility of failure. If he could not reach Sarah, then he pondered what would come about if he would have to return her to the hospital where she had resided for the last ten years. Would she have to live out her existence in a barren room, with doctors and nurses as her only contact to the outside world? Based on what Toby had conveyed, this image seemed not only real, but it carried a level of finality to it.

What worried the Goblin King beyond recognition was the incident with the darkened crystal. This signified that Sarah had somehow shut herself off from all of her experiences in the Underground. Based on what he was able to infer, it seemed that her mind was a hazy and befuddled mess, no doubt caused by the drugs that she had been forced to ingest over time.

'My sister is not crazy.' Toby had insisted. While Jareth knew instinctively that the boy was speaking with passion, he also concluded that these words had stemmed from his not being aware of the whole story. Jareth knew that the boy's response had been one born of his emotions and nothing more.

One of the questions that continually nagged him was: What if she is crazy?

Of course, his contemplations went far deeper than merely considerations of Sarah's level of sanity. The more he contemplated this, the more he asked himself if he was the one who had catalyzed all of it in the first place.

What if the things I had said and done had impeded her? He pondered. What if that crystal I had used just now was showing me that Sarah Williams was confused about what was real or imaginary?

Guilt washed over him like a warm spring rain as he closed his eyes. He could not help but remember the moments when he had been his most frightening and intimidating. He did not even have to contemplate how terrified she must have been after he had sent the cleaners after her. He knew that his actions had been his own desperate attempts at diverting her from the task of saving Toby.

"It couldn't be that," Jareth suddenly muttered, the denial etched in his words.

"Pardon?" Hoggle asked, somehow breaking him out of his contemplations.

"Nothing," the Goblin King said with a shake of his head. The last thing he really needed was to tell the dwarf what he had been thinking about. After all, Hoggle had been present during the thirteen hours Sarah had been in the Underground, so he would have known pretty much everything anyway.

Eventually, Hoggle did speak, but instead of it being about the monarch's disquieting thoughts, the words were about something completely unrelated. "You should go after her, Your Majesty."

"Excuse me?" Jareth asked. His thoughts had been so fixated on Sarah, that he had completely forgotten everything else.

"Prudence," Hoggle said. "You should talk to 'er."

"What should I say?" He asked.

"I don't know if there is anything you can say, but it's probably 'cause the little lady is scared," the dwarf responded.

"Well, that much I do know, Hedgewart," Jareth said dryly. "The question is why?"

"Well, ya changed 'er appearance," Hoggle stated, this time not even bothering to correct the king. "You made 'er into somethin' she's not. I think that would terrify anyone. I'd be scared too if it happened to me."

"Yes, but you're a coward by nature," Jareth said flippantly.

"Maybe, but if you want Prudence to help you, then maybe you should say something to 'er," the dwarf argued. "When she found me earlier, she was worried that I wasn't gonna come back. She was probably afraid of how you'd react if she came by 'erself. I know from experience about your temper."

Jareth took a deep breath. Perhaps my thoughts about him being a complete coward were off. What he had just said was pretty brave, especially considering that he, himself, had banished Hoggle to the Bog of Eternal Stench after Sarah had rescued her brother.

At the same instance, there was nothing worse than being told off by one of his subjects about something that was an undeniable truth. "Alright then, I'll go after her, but give me your word that you aren't going to go off and do something foolish."

"Foolish? Me?" Hoggle asked innocently, a slight smile stretching across his face as his eyebrows arched. "Why would I do a thing like that?"

"I'm not sure why, but I know that you would," Jareth said. "Just keep your word and don't go and do something that could prove detrimental. I know all about how you go about saying things to keep me from getting onto you and then doing the opposite."

"Sire, you would think I'd learned my lesson…" Hoggle started to speak, his voice hitched up several notches.

Jareth, despite the severity of the situation, simply offered a half-hearted smile. It was abundantly clear that he had dealt with Hoggle before and knew that he could change his story faster than a firey could go and loose it's head.

When the Goblin King did not interrupt or respond, Hoggle spoke, his question laced in defensiveness. "I won't do nothing, okay?"

"Your word of honor?"

Hoggle nodded as he crossed his arms over his chest. "I wouldn't know what to do anyway."

Accepting this as an adequate response, Jareth walked away.

As he watched the Goblin king distance himself from where they had been speaking, Hoggle could somehow tell that Jareth's current behavior was showing a rare side of his personality. The honest and forthcoming responses were something that very few of the subjects had even been witness to. While it seemed out of character for the selfish and abrasive king, Hoggle could only conclude that maybe Sarah had left some sort of positive residue on Jareth.

Regardless of these contemplations, the dwarf was now prepared to do something just as out of character; and that was to listen.

Somehow, Hoggle knew that Jareth was not fooling around with him or his loyalties to Sarah. He was just as worried about her as they all were, and this made him somehow conclude that the king's heart was in the right place.

Wordlessly, he watched as Jareth disappeared in the distance before he returned to the front entrance of the Labyrinth and sat down on one of the marble benches to wait.

* * *

Jareth had not been walking for very long when he discovered that the goblin turned human was not the world's greatest when it came to running. Perhaps I ought to put her and several others into a physical fitness program, he thought as quickened his pace somewhat. The thought of hosting his very own version of Goblin Olympics suddenly had its appeal. He could even let them make up their own events like the 'two man, running chicken toss', or the 'ale drinking in a straight line race'.

Contrary to his bleak mood, the Goblin King could still find amusement in the strangest of ways and this caused a brief smile to stretch across his face as he stared at his frightened subject's slow moving form.

This drew him out of his contemplations and with a few quick strides, he quickly gained on her. When he was less than a meter behind her, he watched as she stumbled over a good sized rock. Instinctively, he reached out and grabbed her arm and prevented her from falling flat on her face.

As soon as she felt someone's hand, a terrified cry wrenched itself from her and she struggled against it. He tightened his hold and pulled her backwards, thus preventing her fall.

At that moment, she opened her eyes and raised her head to see that he was regarding her through mismatched, but very stern, eyes. Seeing him looming over her, she cowered away from him and clamped her eyes closed.

Seeing this, Jareth eventually withdrew his hand and waited for her to calm down. In lieu of speaking at that moment, he found a large rock and casually seated himself on it. As he stretched out his long legs, he watched as she un-shielded her eyes and regarded him.

When she noticed that he was no longer towering over her, but instead was seated to one side of her, she relaxed. Jareth would not be taking his anger out on me, she thought as she released a pent up breath. Slowly, she followed his lead and allowed her legs to fold beneath her body and she sat down on the ground.

When neither of them broke the silence, Jareth eventually took a deep breath and began to speak, his gaze diverted to the Labyrinth. "Why did you run away?" He asked, his question simple. His words were neither angry nor impatient, instead they were uncharacteristically soft.

"F-forgive me, Sire," she whispered as she crossed her arms over her chest and humbly bowed.

"I will do so, if you tell me the reason you ran off like that," he repeated his inquiry.

"I-I don't really know," she whispered.

Jareth took a deep breath as his gaze shifted and he regarded her meaningfully. "Don't lie to me, Prudence. I will not tolerate that."

Instead of speaking, she slowly nodded, her face a depiction of sorrow.

Noting this, he took a deep breath as he clasped his hands together and stared down at them for several moments. Once they had passed, he raised his head and looked at her. "Do you remember the day that I was crowned king of the goblins?"

She nodded shyly, not fully understanding why he was speaking of this. "I remember that day very well, Your Majesty."

"Did you know that I was afraid that I wouldn't be a very good king? I pondered quite often whether or not I could live up to everyone's expectations. The only thing I had was a birthright, but I had no real experience. I quickly discovered that I could pretend that I knew what to do rather well, and people would take my word for it," he said dismissively. "I suppose in hindsight I have not exhumed all that befits a proper monarch."

"I don't think I understand what you're saying, Sire," she said honestly. "Or why you are even saying it."

"Oh, I think you do," he said as his gaze returned to behold the vastness of the Labyrinth. "In fact, I have this strange impression that you know a good deal more about my shortcomings than any other subject. That is, perhaps you have far more intelligence than that of a common goblin." He paused. "Will you tell me why it is I have that impression of you?"

"I don't know," she mused.

"Then tell me where you come from, and how you entered into my service."

"It's a long and boring story, Sire," she began. "I mean; what happened to me happened a very long time ago, and is, perhaps, better left forgotten," Prudence turned away from him. "Besides, if you knew my story, you would no doubt laugh at me and my foolishness."

Jareth took a deep breath, but regarded her through challenging eyes. "Would you prefer that I continue to judge you based on inaccurate assumptions?"

"It doesn't matter," she whispered under her breath.

"Maybe it does matter," He argued. "Maybe it matters a great deal. Perhaps it is you who has berated yourself more than I ever could."

Upon hearing these words, she slowly raised her head. She did not trust herself to speak, so she remained silent, her eyes somehow hinting an element of pain that he had never before seen. It was more than clear to him that before she could fulfill the task, he needed to get her to tell her story.

"Do you want to know why it is I need your help?" He eventually asked, this time his words emerged in a non-confrontational way.

Instead of responding to his inquiry with a simple 'yes' or 'no', she merely shrugged her shoulders.

Dismissing this, the Goblin King began to speak. "Of all of the inhabitants of the Underground, I have yet to encounter someone who is as sensitive and kind as you have proven yourself to be."

"Me?" She asked, not really certain she wanted to believe that he had even noticed her presence.

He nodded, but instead of responding to her meek question, he continued his explanation. "That is what I need right now, someone who exhumes these qualities. As you know from your conversations with Hoggle, I am not the one who possesses them." He paused as he inhaled slowly. "This is not said as a form of pretense, I am trying to be as honest and sincere as I am capable. I would only ask that you reciprocate that and trust me enough to tell me what has happened to you."

She took a deep breath. "It has been so long since I have been able to regard myself in a looking glass and see something that is not utterly repulsive. That's why I ran away from you and Hoggle. I was afraid that it was all a dream and that I would wake up unable to look at myself again."

"I remember calling you 'repulsive' just before you left to go find Hoggle and bring him to me," the Goblin King said.

She nodded but instead of making eye contact with him, she stared down at her lap. As she did this, she nervously clasped her hands together before raising her head. As her lips began to tremble, her confession burst forth.

"I was not always a goblin, Sire."


	12. Chapter 11: The Spell

_This chapter is a bit longer than the last one. Sorry that some of my chapters seem too short, but I have had experiences with people griping about them being too long in some fandoms, and try to average about four typed pages to a chapter. I guess you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people all of the time. _

_I am hoping that this will clarify why it is Prudence is a significant character here. It will also go into some of her back story. Yes, some of this may seem non-essential, but I don't write half-efforts here, and to me, just writing a sappy 'Jareth and Sarah' piece is not my thing. I want to have a believable plotline too and that does include the inclusion of other characters.  
_

_Enjoy, and please review.

* * *

_

**Chapter 11: The Spell**

Jareth looked at her, surprise evident in his mismatched eyes. "You were transformed?"

Prudence nodded. "Yes." She turned away from him, her face flushed red as though she felt shame for telling him the truth.

Jareth watched, but instead of immediately speaking, he inhaled slowly, the captured air held for several seconds, before he released it. After some moments had passed, his next words emerged. "Were you from the Aboveground?"

"No, I was born in the Underground some six centuries ago," she responded.

"Prudence, there is not goblin in this, or any realm who has lived that long," he objected.

"I was not always a goblin, Your Majesty," she repeated her earlier statement.

"You remember what you once were, is that what you are trying to tell me?" He asked. When she nodded, he took a deep breath. "Were you changed by one of the earlier Goblin Kings?"

"No, it was not your uncle or any of your ancestors who changed me," she began. "Your Uncle Julian was a very good king and I know that he would never have done such a thing. When he left the Goblin City, he journeyed far to the east of this kingdom. It was the last I knew of him," she said.

"Yes, that's right, he was rather aged when he decided to go and allow the kingdom to be passed on to me. I will admit that it was a very strange line of succession, but one that exists all the same. When he told me that I would be taking the kingdom, I thought initially that he had consumed far too much ale."

"You said earlier that you were not certain you wanted to be king," she commented.

"I did not, but it was my obligation and so I accepted," he said with a casual shrug. "Prudence, I already know all of this, what I do not know is how you fit into this story, or if you even do."

"Do you remember a fae who carries the name Vanessa?" She asked. When he did not respond, she continued speaking. "She was a noble in the fae courts, and I am certain that you have heard tell of her."

"I do know of her, yes," he said. "She was tall with blonde hair, correct?"

"Yes, she was taller than most, and rather intimidating," she responded, but after inhaling slowly, her next words emerged. "Even to me."

"You were fae?" He asked.

"Yes," she nodded.

"Was she the one who transformed you?" He asked.

She lowered her head sadly, but eventually offered a timid nod.

"Why?"

"I am afraid that to answer that question be far too humiliating for me. Please understand if I would rather not," she said.

"Perhaps it would be hard for you, but do you not recall what I said about assumptions?" He asked with challenging undertones in his voice. "You can either speak the truth, or leave me to assume the worst about you and that particular circumstance."

Prudence took a deep breath as she looked at him. "I would rather forget."

"But, you cannot, for that story is a part of you," he began. When she did not respond, he continued. "You can trust me, Prudence; I will not laugh at or ridicule you. I just need to know the truth before either of us can proceed and even begin to help Sarah."

Nodding, and with a shaky voice she began to relate her experiences…

* * *

_She had been raised by loving, but very stern parents; her father had worked in the fae nobility, as a diplomat of the highest order. Her mother had come from a family of upper-middle class note, her work had led her into the arms and the dreams of the diplomat. _

_Their union would bring forth a child, which would be christened with the very name that somehow befitted her birth. She was called Prudentia, a name which had come to mean 'of sound or good judgment'. It was a name befitting of the family from which she had come._

_They had known from the start that she was a beautiful child, her long hair wavy and the color of chestnuts. Her eyes were a warm brown with flecks of gold shining whenever she looked to the light or witnessed the dawn of a new day. She regarded the world through thick lashes and a merry disposition. Her rosy lips never seemed to do anything but smile, and her warmth and generous nature were known throughout the Underground. _

_From the first moment the others had seen her, there was a great murmur among the fae about her potential. They began to speak of when she would ultimately come of age and how she would wed someone who would provide all that she wished for or dreamt of._

_The girl was not going to grow in that way. In fact, as she came of age, something remarkable happened to her. Instead of falling in love with a man of noble birth, she met a male named Aamu. He worked as stable hand and was several years her senior. She considered him to be the most handsome of them all, and dreamt of one day becoming his bride._

_She still recalled the first day they had met, his arms had been loaded down with parcels of feed, their ultimate destination as sustenance for the horses, which he cared for. She had approached him, her dress depicting that of her social status, but her voice had been soft and unassuming as she addressed him._

"_Who are you?" Her question was laced in fascination of the young man that she had never seen before. "I-I mean; what is your name?"_

"_I am Aamu, m'lady, if it pleases thee," he had responded with the most formal of bows as well as an extended hand._

_She had reached out and soon felt a humble kiss being placed atop it. What she did not speak of at that moment was the unconscious draw that he had on her. It was blatantly clear that she wanted to know more of him, so she asked him what his name had meant._

"_It was from an Aboveground language and it is the word for 'morning'," he had responded with a smile. "I was born in the early morning hours."_

_From the start, Prodentia had loved his name and her wish was to know more of this young stable hand. As time passed, she came to realize that she had fallen in love with him, that she wanted to be with him, and to spend her days always in his company._

_Over time, her feelings had been reciprocated and she had vowed herself to him as he had done with her. _

_Soon the time came for the couple to tell her parents of their shared love. This resulted in a hostile response from her father. "How could you love this man?" He demanded, only to elaborate on Aamu's social status and the fact that he was a mere stable hand. "This is not the union we had brought you up for. You should love someone who is an equal in status to you, not someone who is worse off. You should love Jareth, for he is of noble birth and as we speak, he is being primed to become king of the goblins and would soon search for a queen. This is the man you should be with."_

"_But, I love Aamu," she had objected, her words landing on deaf ears._

"_Love?" Her father had exploded. "You should be grateful of your status and do as your mother and I have requested."_

"_Father please, Aamu is the only one I wish to be with," Prudentia had objected, her eyes filled with sadness as the harsh words of her parents literally consumed her. She had known from the start that they had meant well, but their actions implied that they were rejecting their only child. It soon became clear that her wishes were being ignored and her feelings were somehow being invalidated._

_What she did not know was the cruelness of her family would haunt her for the rest of her days. It was during that very night when Aamu would mysteriously disappear never to be seen in the underground again._

_This dark and terrible magic would enfold the young couple and Prudentia would leave her home and search for her lost love. This would bring her to the Castle Beyond the Goblin City to work in the court of the present Goblin King. _

_Over time, instead of finding Aamu, she would feel forced into reconciling this heartbreaking loss, all the while keeping her past a secret and speaking of it with no one. _

_She had gone into service as a seamstress, working alongside several female goblins. From her first days there, Prudentia discovered that although she held a creative gift, she was still not happy. Her eyes were shadowed with sorrow and instead of finding joy in this new life, she wished that she could forget the painful past._

_Some weeks after her arrival, another fae noble had entered the castle with the intention of wooing the one being primed as the new Goblin King. _

_The woman's name was Vanessa, and from the very first moment, Prudentia feared that this woman carried an evil and dark magic that would somehow permeate the entire castle. The goblins were terrified of her, for although simple in stature and knowledge, they could instinctively sense the fae's dark magic. As a result, they stayed as far away from Vanessa as they possibly could. They knew that if she so desired, she could cut their lives short with a simple wave of her hand. Her magic was that powerful. It was only to be exceeded by that of Jareth, the Crowned Prince of the Goblin Kingdom. _

_Prudentia soon affirmed that the goblins' assertions about Vanessa had proven accurate, and she too, made herself scarce._

_What no one really expected was for Vanessa to set out to silencing those who stood in her way, and this, if anything, made her a frightful presence within the castle walls. _

_During this time, Vanessa would come to discover that another fae female was in residence there. It was rumored that she was not only kinder, but also prettier. Soon Vanessa reached the conclusion that if she did not do something fast, this threat would no doubt snare the future king and she would be leaving the Goblin Castle empty handed._

_Through this particular revelation, Vanessa had concluded that she would take all the steps necessary to keeping Prudentia away from Jareth. If it was within her power, she would somehow make certain that Jareth would choose her over all others._

_As the days passed, however, Vanessa realized that simply keeping Jareth away from Prudentia would not be easy at all. In fact, she had taken the task of assisting the goblin seamstresses with the royal attire, which Jareth would be clothed in come the day of the grand coronation. This meant obvious interaction._

_For Prudentia, it had proven been a grand deal of work to sew and mend the thick fabric of the robes. Jareth had watched as the young female fae and her goblin friends had worked so diligently to complete the task. He had been taken by her, not in the romantic sense, as he had believed that romance was for fools. He found her to be interesting and began asking about her life. His most profound question being: "Why it was that a fae that comes from noble house would be working as a mere seamstress amidst a group of goblins?"_

"_It makes me happy, Your Highness," she had responded simply to his inquiry._

_Somehow everything she had said to him carried an almost simple and concise cadence. Jareth never knew that her heart had been broken by snobbery and that she was a mere shell of what she had once been. _

_Of course, not being one consumed with pity, Prudentia went about her business in the hopes that no one would ever discover her deepest and most tragic secret._

_The day Prudentia vanished forever dawned to her waking to see Vanessa standing in her quarters, an angry sneer covering her lips and hostile intentions in her eyes. The room that was usually filled with light was darkened with the shades drawn._

"_I see that you have awakened," she said as though she knew something that Prudentia did not._

_The younger of the two crawled off the bed and stood up, her body clad in contrasting white dressing gown. She stood across the room from Vanessa and regarded her through light brown eyes. "Why are you here?" She asked. "What is it you wish of me, Lady Vanessa?"_

"_You should know the answer to that question already," Vanessa snapped. "I have told every servant in this castle that Jareth, the future Goblin King, is to be betrothed to me. Yet, it is my impression that you insist upon flirting with him, of no doubt trying to bed him."_

"_I have only spoken to him about my duties here in the castle. I have said nothing more," Prudentia said firmly. "What he does or who he consorts with is of no consequence to me. I am a servant, and I can assure you that I have no intention of flirting or bedding him."_

"_You don't?" Vanessa demanded sarcastically as she conjured a crystal and approached where the younger of the two fae stood. As she walked, her hands expertly moved the crystal about, the light filtering into it showing some murky gray substance. "It is perhaps strange, but I do not believe you. I have surmised that you are trying to attain his approval and favor. I will make certain here and now that you do not acquire it."_

"_Why would I wish to do anything of the sort?" Prudentia asked softly. "Lady Vanessa, I have spoken to him, but I do not love him. He is of noble birth, yes, but he is not my one true love. The man I love is called Aamu, and he was considered a commoner, just as I have become."_

"_I do not believe you," Vanessa repeated her angry words a second time. At that moment, she stopped juggling the crystal around and held it in the palm of her hand. Raising her head, she regarded Prudentia through, still, hostile eyes. "You are a ruthless wench, and you will be punished for your treachery. If this does not deter and disgust him, then he is not suitable to be king of anything," Vanessa said, her voice level. Seconds passed and she grabbed the crystal with her free hand and threw it at Prudentia._

_As the object hit her defenseless body, she cried out in agony as her transformation began. Her tall frame shrank to a third of her normal height, her wavy hair splitting and drying out to the consistency of that of a crone. Painfully, her eyes grew larger and larger, the color dulling._

_Just before the transformation was complete, Vanessa looked her at her and shouted as she conjured another crystal. "Now, no one will ever believe you."_

_At that moment, she disappeared and left Prudentia in her miserable new condition. _

* * *

As her story finished she closed her eyes and felt the tears freely streaming down her face, the repeating of her experiences somehow wearing her out.

"How did you come to be known as Prudence?" Jareth asked.

"I changed my name because such a fancy name as Prudentia was not befitting of a mere goblin. No one questioned when I began introducing myself as Prudence and through that I wished to not be reminded of what I once was." She took a deep breath. "In truth, I no longer desired to speak with you or anyone of what had transpired, I merely wanted to fade into obscurity."

"Yet after a time, 1 came to the realization that something must have happened to you," he said. "I remember asking the goblins about where you had disappeared to or why you had even left. I feared that you were unhappy in my service, but they said no such thing. They never even told me what had happened, but I do recall them mentioning Vanessa and her 'desiring' me."

"You speak of that as though you did not like it," she whispered.

"No, I did not, in fact, she disgusted me," he said with a casual shrug of his shoulders. "Perhaps it was because I saw right through her. I cannot explain why, but I believe that the goblin subjects somehow knew of her intentions. I later heard rumors about the castle where those who feared her had claimed that she was a 'witch'."

"I had heard these same stories," she whispered.

"I regret now that I never took them seriously," he said. "Prudence, I must confess that something did happen after I was crowned that made me begin to ponder things more clearly. This was at around the same time Sarah Williams had come Underground for the very first time. She was in the Labyrinth trying to find her way and Vanessa was growing very angry with her. What I started to discover was that she viewed Sarah in the very same manner as she apparently viewed you." He paused for several minutes before taking a deep breath and continuing. "I never told anyone this, but I think I can tell you."

"Tell me what?"

"During Sarah's journey through the labyrinth, I had to show the extent of my cruelty as a way to protect her from Vanessa's jealousy. If she knew how fond of Sarah I had become, then the young girl would have been exposed to even greater danger than the cleaners or the bog."

"Was it because she had no magic?" Prudence whispered.

"In the physical sense, no," he said shaking his head. "You see, although Sarah possesses a bit of her own brand of magic, she would never have been able to defeat Vanessa's," he said. "As you noted, there were very few who could. So, instead of sending Sarah and her brother home, I tested her by doing some horrible things to her."

"But, Sire, you were trying to protect her."

"Perhaps," he said. "I did find a way to send her a caring sort of message through a peach and crystal ballroom, but in essence it was rather cryptic in nature. Essentially, there was no way I could have conveyed my true feelings towards her except shrouded in a vague mystery."

"She never figured it out?" Prudence asked.

"No," he shook his head. "Sarah ultimately interpreted it as being my trying to prevent her from besting the Labyrinth. I did these things so that Vanessa would not believe that I actually cared for Sarah."

"But you did," Prudence finished. "I-I mean; you do…Don't you?"

"Yes," he said simply. "That is why I need your help. Not as a subject or someone who is bound to this kingdom, but as a friend who knows the truth and still has the courage to speak it."

"I don't know if I can," she looked down at her lap. "I'm not what I once was."

"Externally perhaps, but no matter what happens, in your heart you will be what you were born to be. Just answer me this one question; why did you not speak of this sooner?"

"I could not," she whispered. "Vanessa knew that goblins enjoyed spreading tales of mirth and of telling stories. From the moment she changed me, she took away everything that I had once been. It was as though I had ceased to exist."

"Then it does explain why I was drawn to asking you to help Sarah. You and she have been robbed of something profound and significant."

"It must have been an accident, then," she whispered.

"No, I believe that you are the one to help break through and maybe heal Sarah's broken spirit," he said.

"I don't follow," she said.

"Oh, I think you do," he said. "You are the key to everything, Prudence. It was not an accident that all of these events happened as they did."

"Your Majesty, can you not change me back to what I once was?"

"I don't know if I can, for it is told that the transforming of a fae into goblin is a very difficult spell to conjure. When the one who does it is a student of dark magic, as was the case with Vanessa, then not even I possess the power to reverse it."

"You mean, you believe me?" She asked, but when she saw him nodding, she shook her head in disbelief. "Vanessa claimed that no one would."

"Why would you lie?" He responded, his inquiry simple. As these words drifted to the heavens, Jareth somehow knew that even without the use of magic, given her reactions and behavior that she was speaking the truth.

As she remained seated next to him, she allowed her eyes to close as her words filled his ears. "When we spoke with Hoggle, I knew that I was only present to serve you. I have tried all these years to be a good and worthy subject, but I realize that I have kidding myself."

"I'm sorry for that," he began. "It would seem that I did make the right decision when I banished Vanessa from the Underground."

"She was banished?" Prudence asked softly.

"Ultimately yes," he nodded. "It had started out as a rash decision, but perhaps it was for the best. She was never a very nice individual. This, I discovered when she would speak harshly of those she despised and speak kindly of those she approved of. It soon grew tiresome to hear her constantly belittling others and only speaking the words she thought I wanted to hear."

"She was very cruel," Prudence said with a slow nod as she took a deep breath and released it in the form of a sigh.

"Indeed," he said.

"Well, all my problems aside, I did agree to assist you," she said bravely. "I suppose I need your instructions on what I am supposed to do."

"Are you certain?" He asked.

"You asked for my help, and I am at your disposal, Your Majesty," she said firmly.

"Alright, but in the future would you please suspense with the formalities and just call me 'Jareth'. Since you will be interacting with Sarah, it would perhaps be better if you not address me in such a way at all. It could cause you to slip up and right now, I wish for Sarah not to know that she is in the Underground."

"Why?"

"Well, for one, I fear it would frighten her," he said. "Try not to worry, she will know in time." As he spoke, he conjured another crystal and used it to change the appearance of her clothing. Gone was her brown colored ragged dress and in the blink of an eye, it was replaced by a pristine white nurses dress that extended to her knees. On her feet were socks and matching shoes, as well as a small cap and a silver name tag.

The name 'Prudence Smith' was engraved in the small badge and a silver pendant was hanging from a matching chain from around her neck. Anticipating her unasked question, Jareth took a deep breath.

"What I want you to do is simply talk to her, and try and become her friend. Given what I already know and have seen of her situation, a friend is perhaps what she needs most. At the same instance, I don't want it to seem so obvious."

Prudence nodded but continued to stare down at her clothes. "What am I?"

"In the Aboveground, the occupation is called a nurse," he said.

"What is that?" She asked.

"It's a form of healer," he explained. "I know very little about it, but based on my observations Aboveground, this is how the people are dressed. In this state, you will be able to bring her the things that she is going to need."

Prudence nodded as she looked at him. "I will do my best to not let you down, Your Maj…I mean; Jareth."

The Goblin King nodded. "Once I bring you to see Sarah, I will return Aboveground and speak with Toby Williams. There is still a great deal that we do not know about Sarah's situation and I am hopeful that he will still be able to help us. It is my opinion that every piece of information he can provide will be most helpful."

Prudence smiled weakly as Jareth used his magic to bring them to the door leading into Sarah's room.

He motioned with his hand for her to enter, but before she did, he spoke. "Remember; not a word about the Underground or me." She nodded as she stared into the whiteness of the room. "Don't be alarmed by what you discover there, Prudence. It is as it is for a reason."

Nodding, she silently entered the room.


	13. Chapter 12: Letters and Confrontations

_Please review this. Simply listing it as a favorite story does not help me. I have no way of knowing if the story is alright, or if you're bored to tears. It is growing very discouraging to even work on this, and with Christmas coming, I am getting quite distracted._

_Thanks to those who took the time to read and review this. It is greatly appreciated.

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**Chapter 12: Letters and Confrontations**

Upon his return from the Underground, Toby found himself back inside the safety of his bedroom. The door was closed and the shades were still drawn, thus indicating that he had gotten up and left the house just prior to daybreak.

Much to his relief, everything was quiet and it seemed as though his parents were still at work. A quick glance towards the clock affirmed to him that that was the case as it was now closing in on four in the afternoon. He would have close to two and a half hours alone before they were scheduled to return.

Where had the day gone? The teenager pondered. In the back of his mind, he was in constant contemplation as to what was happening with Sarah now that she was safely out of the hospital. To Toby, it was clear that his dialogues with the Goblin King were a far cry more productive than the ones he had had with other adults. He was quickly losing faith when it came to interacting with grown ups in general, and it did not matter if it dealt with Sarah, school, or other concerns.

Instead of concentrating on his homework or calling his buddies for missed assignments; Toby decided to retreat back into Sarah's old room and see if he could find something, anything, that might clue him in on what had happened to her. Now, regardless of the consequences he might face for snooping, he was more than determined to discover the truth.

He went over to the door and pulled it open, thus leaving his room and walking down the hall towards Sarah's old bedroom. At the second door, he opened it and entered before closing it firmly behind him.

Instead of walking over to the mirror and seeing if anyone was observing his actions from the Underground, he started to dig around the cabinets and shelves. The room itself was somehow reminiscent of that, which belonged to a teenager. Toby could not get over how the place had not really changed during the past five or ten years. Whenever he stopped to consider it, he was somehow surprised that his parents had not tossed the majority of Sarah's belongings into the garbage and converted the room into a study or guest bedroom.

The shelves were still filled with stuffed animals and figurines, which he guessed had been souvenirs from renaissance fairs. Either that, or they were remnants of her fascination with the Underground and were encased in old Labyrinthine tales.

Instead of contemplating this further, he reached over and touched a framed picture of the Escher Room, his eyes widening as he stared at the columns of stairs that covered the picture in countless ways. Why had I not noticed this before? He asked himself as he pulled it down off the wall and stared at the complex looking image. Seconds later, he turned the frame over and beheld an envelope that was securely taped to the back side of it.

Thinking it to be some sort of clue, he began to peel away at the tape and eventually removed the beige colored envelope. This he placed on the bed as he returned the picture to its place on the wall. Would this letter perhaps explain what had happened to his sister, or was it merely an old love letter from a former boyfriend?

Moments passed and he heard a now familiar voice calling his name. "Toby?"

He turned around and faced the mirror. Along the contours of it, instead of beholding his reflection, he saw Jareth standing in a medieval style room and staring back at him.

Rushing over to the vanity table, he lowered his body into the chair as his questions burst forth. "Have you seen Sarah since I left? Has she woken up? How's she doing?"

"One question at a time, please," Jareth began. "To answer your inquiries, no, I have not spoken with her and she has not awakened. I have given someone I trust the task of befriending her and I think that it is one of my better ideas."

"If you say so," Toby said as he turned briefly around and stared at the letter that was resting on the bed. As his gaze drifted, he spotted the picture that he had returned to the wall. "Jareth, can you see that picture over there?"

"Picture?"

"Yeah, the one with all the staircases and stuff in it."

"Yes, I see it, that's the Escher Room," Jareth said simply, but quickly added, as if to offer clarification. "It's one of the rooms here at the castle. I noticed that picture when I first became acquainted with your sister. Why do you ask?"

"Just now, right before you called my name, I found an envelope taped to the back of it. I think it might be something important since she had hid it," Toby said as he got to his feet and went over to retrieve the letter.

Once he held it in his hands, he sat back down and held it up so that Jareth could see it. "I guess she figured that no one would think of looking on the back of a picture for something like this.

"What is inside?" Jareth asked. "Can you open it?"

Toby nodded as he opened the flap and carefully pulled two pieces of paper out of it. Unfolding them, he stared down at the writing before raising his head and looking at Jareth. "I don't get it."

"What is it?"

"It's a letter, but," his voice hitched in his throat as he looked at the Goblin King. "It's addressed to you."

"To me?" Jareth asked.

"Yes," Toby nodded. "It has your mane on it, and the words Goblin King. If that's not you, then somebody's yanking my chain."

"Perhaps you should read it."

Toby nodded as he tried to focus on the faint handwriting that graced the page. "Whoa, this is intense."

Jareth took a deep breath. "Toby, I can do magic, but I can't read minds, what does it say?"

Toby offered an almost sheepish grin as he began to read: "Your Majesty, Jareth, the Goblin King."

"Is that really how she addressed it?" Jareth asked, thus interrupting. "I must admit that I did not stop to contemplate whether or not she even knew my name, much less that she would address me so formally. "

"Well, maybe she did it because she didn't intend on you ever seeing it. Girls do weird things like that for some reason," Toby said shrugging his shoulders but turned the letter over so that it would face the mirror and Jareth could see Sarah's bubble-like penmanship.

Sure enough, his name was written in exactly the manner as it had been when Toby had read it. After several moments, he turned them back around and began to read.

* * *

_Your Majesty, Jareth, the Goblin King,_

_I have neither forgotten you nor the lessons that I learned during my time in the Labyrinth. It seems so strange that I sit here close to four years after the fact and am still haunted by dreams and visions of that adventure. Sometimes it feels as though it happened only yesterday, while at other times, it seems like nothing more than that, which is sparked by an overactive imagination. Perhaps it is that way because back then I was nothing more than a girl who would rather live in a fantasy story than in reality. _

_Even now, as I compose this letter, I am certain that you will never receive it. Sometimes, it makes me sad that I could not express what I felt when I had the chance. You confused me, but at the same time, I think you taught me something about myself that was important for me to learn. It was clear that after the Labyrinth, I was not the same person I was. _

_It may sound bold of me to say, but if you ever were fond of me, even remotely, perhaps that had been a mistake. What is there to like, really? I simply cannot believe that your pledge to me was even possible because I was unworthy of it. Perhaps I interpreted it as merely a part of the game or a trick. Oddly, I never doubted your sincerity, I merely doubted myself. Perhaps I hurt you when I said that you had no power over me, but you must know that those were merely the lines in what I viewed to be a story._

_I never intended to hurt anyone, I only wanted to win back my brother because I love him. That may seem like a stupid excuse, but I was fifteen, and I didn't know what I wanted, except perhaps for the story to end happily for everyone involved, myself included. _

_Some months after we met the first time, I realized that the things I aspired to be and to do had changed to the extent that they no longer mattered to me. Reality had become nothing more than having people around me tell me that they are protecting me, when in fact, they were biding their time to do something that might hurt me. Since then, I have opted to keeping my heart under lock and key, with only the writing of this letter as a means to express what I think and feel._

_Amidst all of that, I think I've grown too old to even try and make a wish. How can I when what is said is said, and that words cannot be taken back if they fail to reach the desired result?_

_I know that I am not like others girls, Lydia has said as much. I also knew that she has somehow persuaded my father not to like me because she, herself, does not. I realized that it was more than that the evening I overheard her telling my father that Toby was not safe in my company and that I was somehow ruining her image of the fairy tale family. I never confronted her, but those words somehow ended my nights of being the built-in babysitter. Sadly, they also ended the stories I would sometimes tell Toby about your Labyrinth and the magic that consumed it._

_Now, here I am writing this on my nineteenth birthday and wondering what the future is going to hold. I forfeited my dreams when I was fifteen, and you always knew that my dream was to have my mother come back into my life and take me away from all of this. She never did, in fact, she died about six months ago. Today, my father refuses to even show me her will. _

_I know that once I was so frightened of you, but I know now why I was afraid. You expected me to accept my dreams. You wanted me to embrace what you were offering, but I couldn't, not at the expense of another. Perhaps, I should have chosen you and let Toby go home. Maybe he would have been better off if I had never existed in this world at all. I won't say that it's not fair, because I know that I have no basis for comparison. Yet, sometimes when I feel lonely and afraid, I contemplate saying it anyway…because life is really not fair._

_Respectfully yours,_

_Sarah

* * *

_

Toby lowered the letter and looked at Jareth. "I didn't know about any of this," he whispered, his voice cracking with emotion. He looked into the mirror at the mismatched eyes of the Goblin King.

"Nor did I, Toby," Jareth said.

"Why didn't she ever tell me about her mom and what had happened to her?" Toby asked weakly. "Why do I have to find out like this?"

"When could she have told you? Your parents succeeded in keeping you both separated. Also, from what I know of her, she would never have wanted to burden you with her troubles," Jareth said. Seconds later, he inhaled slowly as his question emerged. "May I have it?"

"Sure, it's addressed to you," Toby said, but instead of speaking further, he returned it to the envelope and placed it on the vanity table in front of the mirror.

Seconds later, the letter disappeared in a cloud of glitter and reappeared in Jareth's hand. "Thank you."

"Sure," Toby said as he got to his feet. "I still can't believe that my parents ever considered Sarah a threat to my safety. I mean; that's so stupid."

"Fear does very strange things to people," Jareth said.

"Don't tell me you're excusing this," Toby shot back. "I mean; if I was in your boots, I'd be totally pissed off."

Jareth took a deep breath. "Yes, Toby, I am angry, but this letter is ten-years-old, and things have changed drastically for your sister since it was written. It does not give us any indication on the sort of person she is today."

"Maybe, but do you know what I think?" Toby asked.

"What?"

"I think my parents planned it this way. I always knew that my mother never liked Sarah at all. Anytime Sarah's name was mentioned, Mom would get this angry look on her face and just start talking trash about her. She would say stuff like Sarah was a heading down the same road her mother was, and that she was wasting her youth on this acting stuff. I mean; nothing that Sarah did was ever right." He got to his feet and Jareth watched as the teenager's fists clenched. "I should go and find that copy of her mother's will just to find out of they've been stringing me along."

"Toby, do think logically, this is not about your relations with your parents, but it is about Sarah," Jareth said.

"I know that, but Jareth, my mother is a lawyer, and you can bet your kingdom that she'd know all the loopholes with this," Toby argued. "If you ask me, they probably threw Sarah into that cracker factory to keep her out of their hair so that they can cash in her inheritance, I see that kind of stuff on TV all the time. Besides, every time I tried to ask my mother about it, she starts ratting about Sarah not being a perfect daughter and then tells me I'm too young to understand."

"Alright, maybe you should go see what you can find out," Jareth said as the doorbell chimed. Recognizing it for what it was, he continued. "Were you expecting company, per chance?"

"No, I wonder who would be out there." Without another word, he got up and went over to the window and tried to peer through it and down to the front porch. "Oh crap," he muttered under his breath as he turned back around.

"Who's out there?" Jareth asked.

"It's that Doctor Harlow guy," Toby said. "He probably thinks that Sarah is here." He paused before his next question emerged. "Jareth, what should I tell him?"

"I am not really certain," the Goblin King responded. "You do recall your promise to not mention the Underground or me to anyone, do you not?"

"Yeah, yeah, I know, but I have no idea what to say to that guy," he said. "Oh well, I better get down there before he breaks down the door or something. I'll talk to you later."

As the connection broke, Toby noticed that the Goblin King had vanished and he was now beholding his own reflection in the mirror. Seconds later, the doorbell chimed a second time. That guy's so impatient, he thought sarcastically as he left the room, closed the door, raced down the hall, and down the stairs.

At the landing, he cast a quick glance around the room before heading towards the front door. For the teenager, there were simply too many things that did not add up.

Was it possible that Sarah was simply being manipulated like Randle McMurphy was in One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest? Toby's endless questions seemed to run rampant in his mind even now. Aside from what he was contemplating, he was growing increasingly tired of the angry words from his mother as well as the casual indifference that emanated from his father.

With weighted steps, he approached the front door. His hands were now starting to sweat and he rubbed them along the contours of his jeans. Turning the knob, he pulled the door open to see Peter Harlow standing, his arms crossed over his chest, and his eyes staring down at him.

Toby decided at that moment that his best option was to play dumb. "Yes?"

Instead of speaking, Peter forced his way into the house before the teenager could so much as utter another sound. Once the door had been closed behind him, the taller man spoke.

"Alright Toby, where is she?" He asked, his voice emotionless.

"Who?"

"You know perfectly well 'who'," Peter said, his voice now taking on an angry cadence. "Don't even think about playing dumb with me. I can read you like a dime store novel."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Toby tried the 'dumb tactic' again.

"Let's just say that I've been in this field longer than you have even been alive, so don't even think about trying to pull the wool over my eyes. I know what you did, and I know who you're working with."

Toby took a deep breath. "Working with?" He asked. "You make sound me sound like some kind of double agent. I'm just a kid." As he spoke, a tremor sent shivers down Toby's spine. There was something in Peter's wording that indicated that the doctor, himself, knew more than he was letting on. The teenager's words ceased as Peter continued speaking.

"You were at the hospital this morning with this 'friend' of yours. You and he were the last people to see Sarah. Now, I want to know where she is, and if you're smart, you'll come clean."

The teenager remained where he was, all the while trying to make himself feel braver than he actually was. "I have no idea where she is. You can even look around the house if you want, but you won't find her, because she's not here."

Peter took a deep breath as he started to walk through the front hallway. He then cast quick glance through the rooms and started towards the stairs, but abruptly stopped when Toby spoke. "I guess the only reason you really have for wanting to find her is so you can lock her up again."

"That's not the way it is and you know it," Peter said, but his words were weak at best.

"Really, well for your information, I'm not as stupid as I look. I saw that room where you were keeping her. It was a windowless cell and there was no way for her to even see or experience the outside world while locked up in there. If that ain't a prison then I don't know what is." He turned away, his expression clouding over as he clasped his hands and tried to get his emotions in check.

After some time had passed, he turned back around, his spiteful words out before he could even stop them. "You know, you may think I don't know anything, but I'm smart enough to put two and two together about you and that awful place. Tell me this, _Doctor_, if that is such a great place, then why has my sister been locked up like a criminal for more than a decade?"

"I don't really know, I just recently took her case and haven't had the chance to look into her file too much," he said honestly. "I could find out if I need to. I do have access to that information."

"If you need to?" The teenager asked skeptically. "You mean; you don't even know why she's locked up in there?"

"Do you?" He asked.

"No, but I was only four when it happened," Toby said. "How can you even claim that she's crazy if you don't even know the first thing about her situation?"

"She has a chart and the treating doctor will follow her progress through it," he explained.

"A chart, that's like my teachers claiming to know what is in my head based entirely on my report card," Toby responded cynically.

Peter was quickly losing his patience, which given his experiences that day, was not a good thing. He decided to try another tactic. "When you and your friend were planning this, did you even know or consider the repercussions?"

"Repercussions?" Toby parroted.

"Yes, the fact is, Sarah has been taking a mild anti-psychotic medication for a number of years?"

"I didn't know that," Toby said.

"Well she has, and without that medication, she could experience withdrawals and have psychological stress." He paused. "Do you know what that means?"

"It means you've made her addicted to drugs, which she probably doesn't even need," Toby said hotly.

Peter took a deep breath as he regarded the hostile youth. "I don't want to argue with you about this, but the medicine that was administered to her was done in small dosages. It was monitored very closely as a means to help Sarah, not harm her," he began. "Now, you may not understand, and for what it's worth, she did not either. Only yesterday, she began to speak after months of silence. I basically had to tell her something that would get her to open her mouth. The only thing I could do to get her to talk was tell her that I had intended on stopping with the medication because she spoke and asked me to. It was nothing more than a tactical maneuver to get her to say something else. The point is, she needs the medication, Toby, her body is dependant on it."

"So basically, to get her to talk to you, you lied to her," Toby said bitterly. "Do you make those kinds of promises to all your patients?"

"It is very clear that I cannot convince you that my motives are noble. The point is, Sarah still needs something to keep her from going through any further episodes. If she does not get her next dosage in the next twelve hours, then she could experience averse side affects and withdrawal symptoms. Given what you and your friend have done, I am only here to persuade you to let me help her. Keeping her away from the medicine will do more harm than good."

"I don't believe you," Toby said stubbornly. "I don't think you care about Sarah at all. I don't think anyone does."

Peter took a deep breath, but instead of responding to the boy's comments, he released it slowly. "Where are your parents, Toby?"

"They're not here." The defiant response emerged.

"Where is your 'friend'?" Peter asked. "I have a very hard time believing that that man was of any relation to you. So, let's be honest here, and tell me if there's another responsible adult around here."

"Why?" Toby asked angrily. "I'm old enough to be home without a babysitter and besides that, maybe you shouldn't give yourself so much credit."

Peter ran his hand through his hair, but regarded the teenager. "Do you love your sister?"

"Of course I do, what kind of question is that?" Toby shot back.

"Then help me try and help her," Peter said. "Tell me where she is."

"No," Toby said firmly as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Please go away."

Peter turned away from the boy and walked the length of the room to the door. "This isn't over, Toby, I am going to find out where she is and when I do, both you and your 'cousin' will answer for it."

* * *

After the doctor had left the house, Toby went over and closed the door. His breathing was somewhat ragged, but calming himself down, he started to walk back in the direction of his parents' den. He was now certain about what he was looking for and nothing else mattered. His sister's letter had been explicit enough and now he knew that he needed to get a copy of that will.

Reaching the door to the den, Toby discovered that the door was locked. "Damn," he swore under his breath. "I guess they really don't trust me at all." Seconds later, an idea hit as a small smile stretched its way across his face.

He knew where the key was kept.

In fact, he had seen his mother fumbling with the cookie jar in the kitchen only two days ago. This cookie jar was generally not used, in fact, the small holes in it allowed too much air in and the cookies they had put into it had dried out within days. His mother had resolved to using the object as a decoration.

Rushing into the kitchen, he grabbed a chair and shoved it over towards the counter. Climbing up on top of it, he pulled down the container and opened the lid. Sure enough, inside of it, the gleaming silver key was visible.

He retrieved it and returned the container to the spot on the cabinet.


	14. Chapter 13: First Encounters

_Sorry it's been a few days since I posted my last update. I have been dealing with Christmas stress and doing the general social gatherings that is keeping me from writing and posting. I hope that you enjoy this and many, many, many thanks for the wonderful reviews. It truly means a lot to me to read the comments._

_My apologies if the story has been a bit slow, but it will start to pick up. Now that we see Sarah, and hopefully those who don't like the premise will see that she is anything but a wimpy mental patient. In the coming chapters, you will find out why she found herself in this situation in the first place. Hope you enjoy the update._

**_I have edited several bits in this story and hope that it flows much better now. I also must apologize for adding an update that hasn't been written yet. Silly me. Here's hoping that you will enjoy the corrections._**

_Happy reading.

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**Chapter 13: First Encounters**

Sarah slowly opened her eyes and rolled over on the bed. As it creaked beneath her weight, she raised her hand and began to wipe the sleep from her eyes. There was not much to do, her days were generally spent alone, either sleeping or lying on the bed and staring at the vast whiteness of the ceiling. Since the doctor had been by earlier that morning, she did not count on seeing him again that day.

I'm all the better for it anyway, she thought sadly. Peter Harlow was just another in the long line of people who had knifed her in the back. The conversation that she had had with him was still very fresh in her mind and did very little to lift her spirits. She knew that he was only doing his job and she was merely a patient among many. His motivation was to use every tactic there was to get her to talk, even if it meant lying to her.

At that moment, she simply did not want to trust anyone at the hospital and knew that she would have to keep herself in check with regards to how much she confided in them. After all, they believe that I'm crazy based solely on what Lydia had said.

She took a deep breath as she pounded the flat pillow and allowed her body to fall back against it. I'm never going to get out of here and no matter what I say or do, nothing is going to convince them of my sanity. It's been this way ever since I was packaged up like a parcel and sent to live here.

The young woman knew that she could positively kick herself for having signed her life over to a passive father and vindictive stepmother. It had been nothing but a trick, and she had fallen for it; hook, line, and sinker. Her stepmother had managed to twist it around and Sarah felt the fool for having allowed it to happen.

She had been a normal person up until she was about fifteen-years-old. That was when, in the blink of an eye, everything had changed. It was somehow encased in what she perceived as an elaborate dream. The Underground and its inhabitants were nothing more than a hallucination brought forth by too many fantasy books and an overindulgence of sweets just prior to bedtime.

The stories of the Labyrinth and Jareth, the Goblin King, were just that: Stories. Telling her little brother of them seemed a fine way to pass the time back when she had been a selfish teenager. After years had passed, Sarah had denied their existence and ceased to believe in magic. This came about after her last visit with her friends Hoggle, Ludo, and Sir Didymus when she was seventeen. It was then when she decided that for sanity's sake, she should shut them completely out of her life.

Sitting up, she tried to stretch herself out and felt the numbness in her upper back. Rubbing it for several seconds, she soon felt life returning to it and eventually she lowered her hand.

Waking up each day in confinement convinced her that there was no room for fantasy and that reality was nothing short of a hellish nightmare. There existed nothing in between.

She shoved the blanket aside and crawled out of bed. The first thing she noticed was that the floor was much colder than she remembered. In fact, she began to shiver and wondered if the heating had been switched off. As she wrapped her arms around herself, she noticed that something felt different even if everything else looked the same.

How she wished that she had a window so that she could see outside.

Was it now winter? She wondered. If so, then it sure did set in fast. Ironic that only yesterday it felt like it was October. Did time really pass that quickly?

Shaking her head, she concluded that she really could not remember what day it was. Sometimes, when she would pay close attention, she could get a sense by looking out the window at the top of the door. The goings on and the decorations out in the corridor generally gave her an idea as to the time of year it was.

She reached the door and cast a quick glance outside. What she saw was a darkened corridor with no life whatsoever. This gave her the impression that it was nighttime and so she backed away from it and returned to the bed. It must be really late, she concluded as she sat down and allowed her feet to slip beneath the covers in an attempt to get warm.

Seconds later, the sounds beyond the door indicated that someone was coming in. Sarah quickly covered her head half expecting to be forced into taking another pill. Keeping herself hidden she waited as the door opened, someone entered, gasped, and closed the door. To the young woman, it sounded almost as though whoever this visitor was, they were perhaps surprised at the conditions she was subjected to living in.

Slowly she lowered the blanket and watched as a woman clad entirely in white turned to face her. When her eyes met hers, she spoke. "Hello, Sarah."

When no further words emerged, Sarah watched with a guarded expression as the woman silently went over to the bed and seated herself in the neighboring chair.

For her part, the 'nurse' began to take in the starched whiteness of the room. This place is much cleaner than the castle's usual rooms, she thought, but did not speak of this. Inhaling slowly, she realized how the odor of the room reeked of the strange cleaning agents that were used in the throne room when the Goblin King wanted it cleaned. This happened perhaps once in a blue moon, she thought with a slight smile.

Prudence watched as Sarah once more covered her head with the blankets and managed to conceal herself. She was not certain at this point in time if she ought to speak or strictly observe. One thing was clear, her face seemed evident that she did not understand why Jareth had insisted that Sarah be kept in such a dismal place.

After several moments had passed, Sarah slowly began to lower the covers to see that the woman was still seated beside her. In lieu of speaking, she offered a hesitant nod and stared silently at the new arrival.

The first thing that she noticed was that the nurse's hands were empty, but her starched uniform was indication enough that the woman was to be perceived as a threat and not to be trusted. She probably had the medication in the pocket of her uniform anyway, Sarah thought.

"My name is Prudence," the 'nurse' tried again, her voice echoing softly throughout the room. When Sarah still said nothing, she continued speaking. "I've been sent to see how you are doing."

Sarah remained silent, but kept a wary eye on the 'nurse'.

This ultimately left Prudence feeling disquieted and quite uncertain. She ran her hand along the sleeve of her dress, and felt the goose bumps that were splashed along her arm. Shivering slightly from the coolness of the room, she took a deep breath. "Is there something you need that I could bring you?" She offered.

Sarah raised her head, barely able to conceal the unhidden surprise. "Why?" She eventually asked, her voice soft, but confrontational.

"I don't know, I just thought that maybe there was something I could do to help you," Prudence began. When Sarah still said nothing, she continued. "No one has ever asked you that, have they?"

"No," Sarah said, the response simple.

Prudence took a deep breath and glanced down at her lap. Her hands were still clasped together, but without warning a melancholy sensation began to take hold of her. "Why not?"

No response, in fact, Sarah turned away.

Unwilling to admit defeat, Prudence tried again, her voice now laced in curious undertones. "What I meant to ask was; why not? Isn't that someone's responsibility?"

"Perhaps," Sarah said dismissively.

Still not put off by Sarah's attitude, Prudence tried again, this time her words imploring. "Sarah, I really do want to help you, but I do not know how."

Sarah turned her head from the one making the inquiry and glanced idly towards the door. "Why should I believe you? The last time I trusted anyone, I was lied to. Who's to say that you won't do the same?"

"Why should I lie?" Prudence asked.

Sarah turned her head and looked at the youthful face of the nurse, her green eyes filled with anger as she spoke. "Alright, if you insist, I'll ask you for something."

Prudence nodded and waited.

"It's freezing cold in here," Sarah began. "I'd like a bathrobe and a pair of slippers."

Prudence nodded. "Of course, I'll see what I can do." She started to stand up, but Sarah reached out and touched her arm, thus causing her to stop. "Is there something else that I can bring you?"

Sarah pulled her hand away and shook her head. "No, that's enough. For now, anyway."

"Then I shall be off to retrieve the items. I'll be back in a few minutes," Prudence stood up and made her way across the room and over towards the door. Reaching it, she opened it and stepped out into the hallway.

* * *

Once she had left the room, Prudence found herself standing alone in the corridor. Shaking her head helplessly, she sighed. How can I proceed now that Sarah is awake? She asked herself as Jareth abruptly appeared beside her, his face still lined in concern.

"How is she?" He asked.

"I don't really know, it's hard for me to tell," Prudence admitted.

"I see," Jareth said as he brushed his hand against his chin.

"Jareth, you said earlier that you were going to see her brother. Did he tell you anything that might help us?"

"No, but I believe that he was at a loss," Jareth said. "I trust that he will tell me if he learns anything new." He paused. "Did Sarah tell you anything?"

"No, and I really do not know if there is anything I could do that might actually help," Prudence admitted. "When I tried to talk to her, she reacted to me in such an angry manner. The truth is, I do not know how I can be her friend if she does not wish for it."

"Did you try to engage her in dialogue?" He asked.

"Yes, but when she did speak, her words were consumed in anger and hostility," Prudence said.

"Then maybe I should try and reach her myself," he said as he started towards the door.

"You cannot go in there, Jareth," she said with an adamant shake of her head. Without thinking, she reached out and grasped his arm and attempted to pull him away from the door.

Angry, he turned around. "I'm going to see her, Prudence. I have to."

"You cannot," she insisted. "It's obvious that she's not ready for that yet. Maybe you should simply observe her through a crystal and then you will know that what I am saying is the truth." She paused before continuing, her logic matching his bullheadedness. "You gave me a task, and I must fulfill it. I know that you care for her, but she is not the same person as the one who bested the Labyrinth. She's different somehow; she's changed, Jareth."

"I know that, she's grown up and become a woman," he said impatiently.

"No, it's more than that," Prudence said. "I do not know if I can explain it in a way that you will understand. The truth is, I really don't think she believes in the Underground anymore."

"So, what can we do? I cannot simply force her to remember. Even if I could, there exists a chance that it would frighten her. Sarah needs to know the truth as soon as possible, but there has to be a way to convey it. If we do not tell her, then it could leave a drastic impact on others; not just you and me, but also her brother, as well as her friends."

"I do not follow. What exactly do you mean?"

Shrugging his shoulders, he looked at her as he tried to get his thoughts straight. "I cannot say with absolute certainty, but I have this feeling that something is simply not right. When I spoke with young Toby just before arriving here, he said that the visitor at his home was the doctor from the hospital, the same man we encountered just prior to my using the transportation spell to bring her here. I do not know why, but something about that situation concerns me."

Prudence looked at him. "Could there be a connection between what Toby told you and what Sarah said to me?"

"What do you mean?" Jareth asked.

"She said that someone at the hospital had lied to her? I was just wondering if that could have been the same person. It might explain why she doesn't believe me." She ran her hands down over the uniform and the looked back at him.

"Is that really what she told you?" He asked.

"Pretty much and I'm starting to think that maybe your bringing her here was a mistake. Either that or her being forced to live like this is."

"Prudence, I will never believe that her being here is a mistake," Jareth said hotly. "It would take all the gods working against me to convince me that she is worse off here than Aboveground."

Instead of responding, Prudence simply shook her head as she felt a strange sensation enfolding her. Without thinking about what she was doing or why, she extended her hands out from her body and felt a crystal suddenly materializing in her flat palm. For several moments, it remained where it was and then suddenly burst, thus leaving the items that Sarah had requested as well as shards of glitter drifting from between her fingertips and onto the floor.

Surprised, she raised her head and looked at him. "How did you…do that?"

"I didn't conjure those things, Prudence, you did," Jareth said. "It would seem that in this fae-like form, your magic is starting to return to you and you are rediscovering your powers."

"You mean; I can do magic?" She asked weakly.

"Yes, apparently you can," he said.

"As a goblin I could not do much of anything except maybe terrorize several chickens and deliver messages," she confessed.

"Well, it does confirm your experiences as being factual, as no goblin in human form could have done that with such ease. However, with that said, you've just given me an idea," he said as he conjured a crystal and balanced it on the tips of his fingers. "I want you to hold up the dressing gown as high as you can."

"What are you going to do?" She asked.

"I'm going to see if I can help you reach Sarah," he said. "Not to worry it won't be a drastic use of magic, just something that might speed things along a bit. Now, hold it up." Once she had done as he instructed, he threw the crystal at the robe and watched as it exploded in a shower of glitter. "Now, all you have to do is take it to her, but make sure she's wearing it before you start talking to her."

"Why?" She asked.

"You'll see," he said wryly and vanished.

With the Goblin King now gone and an array of questions still in her mind, Prudence silently draped the garment over her arm and retrieved the slippers. Would whatever it was that Jareth had done to it actually help? She pondered as she ran her hand over the light blue colored objects.

Regardless of that, she could not help but ponder how the robe and slippers had appeared. If what Jareth had said had been the truth, then she could conjure magic again. Perhaps it was not as extravagant as the spells that the Goblin King was known for, but it was something. That somehow made her feel like her old self again.

With a new sense of hope, she returned to the door to Sarah's room. Taking a deep breath, she opened it and entered.

* * *

Sarah was still sitting on the bed, her feet stuck beneath the blankets as Prudence approached and handed her the robe. Without hesitating, she crawled out of bed and put it on. It was softer and warmer than she had anticipated. Instead of contemplating the speed in which Prudence had retrieved the garment, she spoke, her voice laced in gratitude.

"Thank you."

Prudence smiled but waited until Sarah had tied the belt around her waist before handing her the slippers. "I'm glad I could do something to help."

As Sarah put them on, she nodded. "You did help. I just didn't expect anyone here to care enough about asking, much less fulfilling that promise."

"I really don't understand," Prudence began. "Perhaps because I'm new here. I just think that you deserve to be comfortable."

Sarah straightened out and watched as the edges of the robe fell down and brushed against her ankles. The warmth was immediately detectable and she felt as though the temperature had climbed at least ten degrees since Prudence had entered the room. "Well, don't you ever let Nurse Jameson hear you talking like that," she said bluntly.

"Who?" Prudence asked.

"The head nurse; she's the one who now runs the show around here," Sarah offered freely. There was something inside of her that felt the need to speak honestly and for the life of her, she could not stop herself. "Nurse Jameson is a very mean-spirited woman and I think that she would prefer to have every patient in this hospital taken out and beaten to death." Sarah instinctively slapped her hand over her mouth.

Prudence watched through surprised eyes as Sarah lowered her hand. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that, but it's true. When you first came in, I half expected that it would be her."

"Does she really scare you?" Prudence asked naively.

"Yes, but you do too, because you work for her," Sarah responded freely. "Look, I don't know what came over me just now. I mean; I know that you seem perfectly alright, and all…" Her voice trailed off and she leaned towards Prudence and spoke, her voice barely above a whisper. "…It's just that I've been here a long time, and I know from personal experience that Vanessa Jameson is anything but a nice person."

Prudence's face abruptly went as white as a sheet. "Vanessa? Did you say her name is Vanessa?"

Sarah nodded. "Yes, but please, don't tell her what I said."

"Why would I?" Prudence asked.

"It's like I said, you work for her, you're sort of obligated," Sarah said simply. It was no secret that the young patient knew more about the running of the hospital than perhaps most of the staff did. People like Prudence did not frighten or intimidate her so much, but Nurse Jameson most certainly did. Strangely enough, Sarah pondered why it was she felt the sense of disquietedness whenever the head nurse's name was even mentioned.

Prudence reached over and rested a gentle hand on Sarah's shoulder. "I won't say anything that will betray your trust, I promise."

Sarah nodded. "Thanks."

Prudence took a deep breath. "Would you humor me and tell me a little bit about Vanessa Jameson?"

"Wouldn't you know?" Sarah asked. "You do work here."

"Someone else interviewed me for the position," Prudence said honestly. "The thing is, I once knew someone named Vanessa, but it was a very long time ago."

"You must have hated her, your face was as pale as these walls when I said it," Sarah said freely.

"I guess," Prudence said honestly. "Will you tell me?"

Sarah took a deep breath. "There is not much to tell, I'm afraid. I have encountered her several times since she started working here. The last time she spoke to me, she said that my stepmother had been right to have me sent here and that I was crazy."

"You don't believe it, do you?" Prudence asked.

"No I don't, but I know that people are not quick to believe me when I try to convince them of that." As she spoke, Sarah ran her hand over the soft fabric of the robe she wore. As she reached into the pocket, she felt something strange and pulled her hand out. As she did, she could see that there was a small mass of silvery glitter on her hands.

She raised her head and looked at Prudence. "W-what is this?"

"I'm sorry, I must have forgotten to check the pockets," she said smiling slightly. "It's pretty though, isn't it?"

"It reminds me of something," Sarah said. "Something that happened a long time ago."

"What?" Prudence asked. "What happened?"

"Nothing, it was just a dream I had," Sarah said softly. "At one time, it felt so real that I thought maybe it could have been." She looked down at her fingers and noticed that the last remnants of glitter were still stuck to them.


	15. Chapter 14: Trouble Brews

_Hi everyone. First of all, I'm sorry that it has taken me so long to update. Things have been rather insane here since Christmas with one of my family members being in the hospital and undergoing an operation. Writing has been the last thing on my mind, I'm afraid._

_Many thanks for the encouragement and the wonderful reviews. I am truly grateful to you for leaving them and letting me know what you think of this story._

_I hope that you continue to enjoy it and that you will continue to let me know how it is going. This chapter should explain a great deal as to why Sarah was hospitalized in the first place._

_Hope you enjoy.

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_

**Chapter 14: Trouble Brews**

Lydia Williams was sitting in her office at the law offices of 'Ryan, Vanderbelt, and Williams' and was looking down at the paperwork that was on her desk. As she continued to focus her energies on the task at hand, the door to her office abruptly opened and Vanessa Jameson entered, her secretary, Minerva Harris, directly on her heels.

"You can't just barge in here like this," the secretary's voice emerged, thus causing Lydia to raise her head and eye her hired help with disdain.

It was also clear that given Vanessa's overt expression that she intended to do what she wanted, when she wanted. Minerva knew instinctively that it did not matter in the slightest because she was nothing more than a peon secretary.

Before any of the women could speak, Lydia did. "What is the meaning of this, Minerva? I clearly said I did not wish to be disturbed. What part of that do you not understand?"

"Mrs. Williams, I'm terribly sorry for the intrusion," Minerva began, her voice shaking from overt nervousness. "I tried to stop her, but she insisted on seeing you."

Upon hearing these words, Lydia flicked her wrist at the younger woman, thus waving her off. She then watched as the secretary backed slowly towards the door and made a hasty exit.

Lydia's attention then shifted back to Vanessa. "What the hell are you doing here?" She snapped. "I clearly told you that you should stay away from me and my family until the money comes in." She eyed the tacky light blue business suit the other woman was wearing, but deciding against condemning her on her lackadaisical fashion sense, she simply waited for Vanessa to respond.

For her part, Vanessa shifted her weight, but confidently went over to a chair and seated herself. The notebook she carried eventually came to rest in her lap. She clasped her hands together as she looked across the desk at the lawyer, her eyes meaningful. "Lydia, we have a problem," she said matter-of-factly.

"What kind of problem?" Lydia asked sharply. "Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Whatever you have cooking up, it can wait," Vanessa said haughtily. "The reason I am here is because we're having problems with your daughter…"

"…Vanessa, I do not have a daughter," Lydia interrupted her. "I have a stepdaughter who is proving to be the biggest pain in the ass on the planet."

"You're not kidding," Vanessa muttered under her breath. "And don't even get me started on the company she keeps."

"Company?" Lydia asked. "She's in a psycho ward. What sort of company would she keep there? Besides, I thought we clearly agreed that she would have no contact with anyone outside of hospital personnel."

"I know what _we_ agreed to, but it's not my fault that she has a doctor on her case who has the personality of a limp teabag." When Lydia continued to shuffle about with her paperwork, Vanessa took a deep breath. "Look, I think that you should stop what you are doing and listen to me. Lydia, Sarah has escaped from the hospital."

"Escaped?" Lydia snapped. "How could this happen?"

"I have an idea, but I am certain that you are aware of how her being on the outside could blow the whistle on our entire operation. Instead of us striking it rich, we could easily find ourselves in a shit load of trouble."

Lydia took a deep breath. "Well, stop beating around the bush, Vanessa, just tell me how she got out."

"Well, my guess is because Peter Harlow allowed her to have visitors this morning," Vanessa said.

"You couldn't stop him," Lydia asked.

"He's a doctor, Lydia, and I think you are forgetting that he's the one with the authority to grant her visitors," Vanessa said. "If I were to have stopped him in the hall and told him that I didn't approve of Sarah having visitors, he would have laughed in my face." She took a deep breath as her voice lowered considerably. "I know that ten years ago, we agreed to put Sarah out of commission. You recall it was before the money issue even became a priority. You made up the story about her being a threat to Toby's well being, but you also promised to return the favor if I were to pull some strings and help you out. Remember?" She crossed her arms over her chest and waited several moments. When Lydia did not respond, she continued speaking "If memory serves, you came into the hospital chapel that day and was all weepy about it."

"It was not because of Sarah," Lydia began. "The doctor had just told my family that my uncle would have to go through radiation treatments and I was worried." She paused. "The point is, you should be out there looking for Sarah and not harping on outdated news." As she spoke, her eyes darted to the door.

Noticing that it was still closed, her gaze shifted back to her cohort. "So, what is it you want? Are you here to collect?"

"Not just yet. I know that you don't have the money, but money is not what I am after," Vanessa said with a casual wave of her hand. Not since I have Peter Harlow literally eating out of the palm of my hand, she added silently, as an evil smirk shadowed her face.

Oblivious to this, Lydia looked across the desk at her. "Alright, then tell me what we are going to do. I mean; we have to find Sarah before anything else happens or she says something that could implicate us. Can you imagine if she were to get out of town? People on the outside don't know that she's a mental case."

"True, but the question is, will our scheme work with her being out of the hospital?"

"Of course not," Lydia said. "We have to make sure she stays at the hospital so that I can continue to legally act on her behalf. If she isn't there, then everything is put on ice until those incompetents at the hospital catch up with her. Let's face it, after a decade in that cracker factory, Sarah's probably convinced herself that she's as nutty as a fruitcake and dependent on the place. So, we might as well say that she's been abducted and maybe for practicality's sake, we might be able to get the police involved." She paused as she clasped her hands together, her eyes still on Vanessa.

"I'm not so sure you would want to do that. They might ask why you are so intent on locking her up," Vanessa mused. "Besides, I'm afraid that there's more to the story than what I just told you. It's about your kid."

"What does Toby have to do with any of this?" Lydia asked. "He's clueless about what we are doing, and I've worked my tail off to make certain of it. Whatever information I have about this is at home and locked in the den. He'd never have the courage to go behind my back and he knows that I'd kill for less. The one that was hard to manipulate was Robert. Convincing him that his beloved daughter was a threat to Toby's physical and emotional health was worse than pulling teeth. When I finally managed that, it was decided that hospitalization was the only option."

As she spoke, she fished a small red book out of her pocket and waved it in front of Vanessa's nose. "Ever since I found this little story in Sarah's bedroom, it's been a piece of cake for me to persuade her to give me the power of attorney."

"Why did she do it in the first place?" Vanessa asked. "Is this all simply about a children's storybook?"

"No, she did it because of her love for Toby. Through that, I was able to persuade her to accept the fact that even though she was legally an adult, that she had never fully grasped the difference between fiction and reality. Sarah has always believed that the place in this story was real and that the figures in it existed."

"Every kid has a fantasy though, how could that book be any different?" Vanessa asked.

"It's not just about a book and fantasy, it's about making that distinction. You recall soon after we met when I told you that I had overheard her talking to herself about this 'Underground' place. Well from what I have gathered soon after that, I came to the conclusion that she's been doing it for years and believed that I didn't know anything about it."

As she spoke, she returned the book to her pocket. Taking another deep breath, she continued. "As you know, after I caught her talking into her mirror when she was eighteen, I figured that it was the perfect way to get her out of our hair once and for all. These silly stories were the literal stake in her coffin. After a time I realized the benefit of them, specifically after her slut mother bit the dust. Who would have thought that Sarah would come into so damn much money through a simple inheritance? The only drawback is having to wait ten years to actually cash in. I guess her mother concluded that at a young age, Sarah would not invest it wisely so she added that special 'stipulation' in her testament. All we have to do now is just wait for the paperwork to clear and we will go from living on TV dinners and soda pop to caviar and champagne in a matter of hours."

Vanessa nodded. "Perhaps, so long as your idiotic husband is left in the dark about your intentions. You did say that you were planning to leave the country once you manage to get the accounts cleared out. But, Lydia, what are you going to do about the boy?"

"I'm going to take him with me. By the time I get him to Paris, he will probably forget all about his life here and be able to move on without his wishy-washy father or his storytelling half-sister. Maybe living in a glamorous place, he will finally cease and desist with thoughts of this ideal family crap that he's been carrying about with him. That alone has seriously been getting on my very last nerve." A pause. "What I can't understand is how my own flesh and blood could be so empathetic to someone he barely knows. He certainly did not get that from me."

"Maybe he got it because he's been influenced by someone _outside_ of your family," Vanessa said honestly. "After all, only this morning when I started my shift at the hospital, I did see Toby and a strange looking man roaming the halls there. That's what I was going to tell you when this conversation digressed. Anyway, the two of them were speaking with Doctor Harlow and it looked as though they had finagled their way in to see Sarah."

"You must be mistaken, Toby would never have had the nerve to show up there." Lydia said.

"Maybe that's why he didn't tell you anything, maybe he knew that you would have had a fit about it. The point is, I did see him this morning," Vanessa said. "Did you even talk to him today?"

"No, but usually when he leaves early like that, it's to attend the science club meetings at school," she said.

"Either that, or he was meeting this strange friend of his to bust Sarah out of the hospital," Vanessa said, her voice dripping in sarcasm. "I saw them, Lydia, and I even spoke with Harlow after the fact. Being head nurse does have a few benefits to it. Anyway, when we spoke, he said that Toby and his 'cousin' Jareth were the last people to have seen Sarah this morning."

"Toby doesn't have a cousin named Jareth," Lydia said.

"Don't ask me why, but I suspected as much," Vanessa said. "What I can tell you is that his name spells trouble."

"Tell me something," Lydia began. "Is that why you tried to dissuade me from getting the police involved, to keep the staff incompetence there under wraps or to protect Toby?"

"To protect your son, of course," Vanessa began. "Ever since my shift ended several hours ago, I have been trying to figure out where specifically Sarah is…"

"…This all happened 'several hours ago'?" Lydia interrupted as she stood up, her hands immediately coming to rest on her hips. "And you conveniently waited this long to come and tell me?"

Vanessa took a deep breath. She was growing rather tired of Lydia's condescending attitude, but instead of voicing this, she listened as the other woman continued, her shrill voice filling the office.

"I don't care what your excuses are; what I do care about is you catching Sarah before anyone else starts snooping around her case. You know perfectly well that Sarah could wreck everything if she discovers that I tricked her into signing her power of attorney over to me."

Vanessa took a deep breath. "If she's smart she won't do it, Lydia."

"Well, smart and Sarah have never been spoken in the same sentence," Lydia said loudly.

"Rest assured that Peter Harlow is doing everything he can to find her, but he is such a dimwit that I would bet you money that he will change his mind about Sarah's level of sanity before the day is out," Vanessa said and taking a deep breath, she continued. "I must add that I do not believe that her escape was accomplished through conventional means. After all, her room had no window."

"Look, I don't care about the 'how's' or 'why's' she got out, your job is to find her and make certain that it is done before she shows up somewhere and starts making problems for me," Lydia said as she rammed her fist on the expensive wooden desk. "Just remember, I have already paid you a substantial sum of money to keep Sarah locked away, so now you better make damn sure you get her back inside her padded cell, or I will use whatever means I have to implicate you in this escapade. Are we clear, Vanessa?"

"Of course, Lydia, and not to worry, the staff at the hospital will be looking for her around the clock," Vanessa said. "Perhaps you should talk to your son about what his involvement is. If he has spoken with Jareth or Sarah, your powers of persuasion could come into question. And for the record, there is no way you will implicate me. If I go down, so will you."

"I doubt that," Lydia grumbled under her breath, but looked at Vanessa as she got to her feet. "So, who is this Jareth anyway, and what is his interest in Sarah?"

"Just a random trouble maker is all," Vanessa said, but instead of elaborating further, she left the office, her expression laced in evil intent.

* * *

On the other side of town, Toby Williams was holding the key to the den in a trembling hand. If only I had Jareth's confidence and could manage this without any problems, he thought sadly. He approached the door leading into the forbidden room and stared at it for several moments. He knew what would happen if his mother found out about what he was doing, but he was fully aware that he had to find out the truth.

It was not just Sarah's future Aboveground hanging on this discovery. Toby was smart enough to know that beyond a locked room, there existed far too many secrets about his sister's mental health. Since neither of his parents intended on helping her, it was up to him.

What am I doing, really? He asked himself. I'm not hero material. He knew that if there was one thing his mother did possess, it was power. Somehow she held it over his father, over Sarah, and to some extent, over him as well.

He sighed as he recalled the visit from Peter Harlow. This had shaken him somewhat and he was starting to ponder whether or not the doctor had been right about the medication that Sarah was supposed to be taking.

The question that still ravaged his mind was: Would she have taken the pills willingly?

After several moments passed, he shook his head and stuck the key into the lock and turned it. When it offered a resounding click, he pushed his way into the room, all the while wondering if he would be able find a copy of Sarah's mother's will among the mounds of paperwork his mother stored in there.

Closing the door, his contemplations continued as he approached the desk and took in the folders that graced one side of it. On the other, he spotted a fax machine, telephone, computer, and copy machine.

The will would not be out in the open, Toby concluded. Given the clandestine manner in which Sarah had hidden the letter to Jareth, the teenager figured that even in a locked room, the file would probably be found in a place that was not 'typical'.

Even if I did find it, he thought bitterly, there was perhaps not very much I could do with it. I don't understand all that legal crap mom spews, and Dad's the walking clueless with this sort of stuff.

"Maybe Jareth might know, I mean; he is a king, and would have to know this sort of stuff…wouldn't he?" He muttered under his breath as he seated himself at the desk and started to go through the drawers. As his hand brushed along various file folders, he dismissed that notion thinking that perhaps the Goblin King did not have enough experience Aboveground to be able to decipher a hodgepodge of legalese.

At the same time, Toby reached the conclusion that whatever he found would be safer with Jareth than anywhere else. At least he hoped that was the case. Having seen the goblins first hand and remembering how hungry one of them was, he wondered if anything would be safe in the Underground.

With a sigh, he continued to dig through the drawers until he found a beige colored folder that was at the very bottom of a pile of papers. For some reason, this particular file looked out of place and after moving several of them out of the way, Toby managed to extract the folder. Taking a deep breath, he opened it and after a casual glance towards the door, he shifted his focus back to it, and began to read:

'Last Will and Testament of one Linda Harwood Winslow'.

"Bingo!" He said out loud, all the while realizing that he had found exactly what he was looking for. Not really understanding the lingo that graced the pages, he decided that the only thing he could do was photocopy the pages and see if there was someone who could help him decipher it.

He swiveled around to the copy machine and turned it on. As it hummed to life, he quickly managed to make copies of everything that was in the file. Thank God for auto feed, he thought as he managed to get the copies quickly. Checking them after they had gone through the machine and seeing that they were readable, he pulled his t-shirt out of his jeans and let it hang freely. Next, he stuffed the still warm pages in the front of his jeans and allowed his shirt to fall over and conceal them. Finally, he returned the originals to the drawer where he had found them.

As he finished, he turned off the machine, all the while hoping that he would manage to find his way back to Sarah's bedroom before anyone was due home. It was now six in the evening and he knew that his parents would be home very soon.

Leaving the room as he had found it, Toby slipped quietly out into the foyer and relocked the door. Racing back through the house and into the kitchen, he grabbed a chair, climbed up on it, and managed to return the key to the cookie jar just as the door opened and Robert walked in.

"Toby, what's going on?" He asked. "Why are you on that chair?"

"No reason," he said quickly. "I was seeing if there were some cookies in the jar, but I guess Mom just uses it for decoration."

Robert nodded as he started to make his way over to the stove in order to heat water for tea.

As he reached over and grabbed the tea kettle and filled it with water, his next question emerged. "Has your mother gotten home yet?" The words filled the room as he placed the object on the stovetop and turned on the heat.

"No, not yet," Toby said "I haven't paid much attention because I have a ton of homework to do. Mr. Richardson assigned another science report, this time on the Mount St. Helen's eruption in 1980."

"Okay then we'll call you when it's time for dinner," Robert said as he returned his attention to the kettle. For him the conversation was clearly over.

Toby quickly left the kitchen.

As he stepped out into the hallway, he touched the bulky papers that were concealed beneath the folds of his t-shirt. Calmly, he made his way up the stairs as the front door opened and closed, thus announcing Lydia's return.

"I'm home," she called out as Toby ran to the sanctuary of Sarah's old bedroom. He knew what he had to do and that was to get the papers to Jareth before his mother found out that he had made copies of them.

He closed himself in her room and went over to the mirror that was just over the vanity table. He seated himself in the chair and spoke. "Jareth, are you there?" The teenager waited several moments for someone to respond. When they did not, he took a deep breath. "Goblin King, please answer I need to talk to you."

Again he waited, but when the mirror did not change, he took a deep breath. "Now what?" He asked the stillness. Where was Jareth, and how much longer would he be able to keep these copies without his mother finding out about them?


	16. Chapter 15: Willful Words and Questions

_First of all, I am really sorry that this story sort of went by the wayside during the past few months. Much has happened in my life since earlier this year, but today I decided that it was time for me to get a new chapter polished and posted._

_Please forgive me for the long silence, but I am going to try and get the chapters posted as I complete them. I will hopefully get this done by Christmas. _

_Enjoy and do let me know if you are still reading this.

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_

**Chapter 15: Willful Words and Questions**

At the same moment Toby had been trying to return the key to the cookie jar, Jareth was still standing and waiting outside the doorway to Sarah's room. He recalled how Prudence had managed to get the items that Sarah had requested, and how simple that task had been. Yet, he still wondered if there was something he could possibly do to help the young woman recover from the tragic set of experiences that she had had.

The Goblin King knew that he still cared for Sarah Williams, but he also realized that after more than fifteen years, she might still harbor a sort of grudge against him. After all, he had sent the cleaners after her, dropped her and Hoggle into the Bog of Eternal Stench, and threatened to turn her little brother into a goblin. That could deem the ire from any level minded individual.

Those experiences alone may not merit him a suitable mate for Sarah Williams anymore than Toby would have made for a good goblin. The fact was, the teenager was far too brave to submit himself to anyone. Of course, Toby did not know this yet. Jareth guessed that the boy would embrace it before too long.

As the Goblin King pondered the pros and cons of his past and present actions, the door to the room suddenly opened and Prudence emerged. Closing it behind her, she inched her way past him, but raised her head and addressed him. "She's now awake."

"How is she?" He asked.

"I would say she's alright, except…" Prudence's voice trailed off and she looked away.

"…Except what?" Jareth asked.

"I can't really say because there's something hidden about her. Something that I cannot quite figure out," she said honestly. "In some ways, she's frightened, but in others, there's an assertiveness in her that is uncanny. I think she wants to believe that the Underground is real, but doesn't really know how to go about it."

"Does not know how?" The Goblin King repeated, his voice laced in disbelief. Before continuing, he took a deep breath as he rubbed his hand against his chin. "Maybe someone should go in and tell her the truth."

"No, even if you or one of her friends were to do that, she may not believe it, or worse still, she would either become terrified or begin to ponder her sanity."

"But she is not crazy," Jareth said.

"We both know that, Sire, but the question remains; does she?"

He took a deep breath. "So, what you are saying is that we have no means of resolution for this dilemma. Regardless of that fact, the truth remains that you did go in there first. This will perhaps help when the times comes for me to reveal to her who I am. For that, I must say thank you."

"I merely fulfilled what you have asked of me, but I do not know what more to do that might actually help her," she said modestly.

"Nor do I," he said. "I know that I will eventually have to face her and that may mean I must answer inquiries that I am unable to. Perhaps it is best that I proceed now as opposed to waiting."

"What are you going to tell her?"

"I do not know," he said and took a deep breath before running his hand through his unruly whitish blond hair. "When Toby and I brought her here, she was fast asleep, and now she is awake." A pause as he tried to collect his thoughts. "Prudence, may I make an inquiry of you?"

She nodded slowly.

"Did you ever contemplate why I always behaved in such a strong, confidant, and rather demanding manner?"

She shook her head. "No, it was not my place to seek clarification."

"Well, I'm going to tell you anyway," He began. "Ruling the Goblins was easy; many of them looked upon being thrown about the room or tossed out the window like rubbish as a rather odd form of entertainment. They did things to displease me so that I would react in that fashion because they rather enjoyed it. There was no question as to why I did this to them, it was simply the way of things. I am king and I can do as I please." As he spoke, his voice took on a familiar harshness, the words causing Prudence to fearfully back away from him.

Seeing this, Jareth reached out and gripped her shoulder, thus preventing her from running away. "I will do nothing like that to you, as I am discovering that perhaps doing whatever I pleased could have left some rather harmful impacts on others." As these words emerged, he could still feel the tension remaining in her shoulder. "Why do you do that?"

"Do what?"

As if by impulse, he tightened his hold on her shoulder before loosening his hold. "You are so tense," he began. "Why is that? Are you afraid?"

Instead of responding, she lowered her head, her silence somehow more unnerving to Jareth than he was willing to admit. Perhaps given her experiences, she had a rather good reason to be as frightened as she was.

After several moments had passed, she raised her head. "May I be honest?" She asked.

He nodded. "Of course, I had hoped that you would speak truthfully with me."

"I try, but I'm afraid of how you might react to my words."

"I will do nothing, Prudence," he said simply. "Just tell me what you wish to say."

"It is not much except that I feel reassured in knowing that you have recognized that being king is a leadership role and not one consumed in tyranny."

Jareth nodded, and while the anger still began to build up inside him, he knew that he could do nothing as she was simply being honest with him. "Perhaps you are right, but the truth is, I do not wish to do as I please, at least not as far as Sarah Williams is concerned. I sent her to the Bog of Eternal Stench fifteen years ago and that was merely done as a means of proving a point."

"Proving what point, that you are capable of unspeakable cruelty?" Prudence asked before she could stop herself.

"Yes," emerged his simple response. "But, have we not discussed that already?"

"My apologies," she offered. "But, why did you prove this point to her?"

"I was trying to protect her," he said. "It may seem foolish to say so today, but it is the truth."

Prudence took a deep breath. "Jareth, I think you need to know that Sarah has been abused. I do not know to what extent, but I do know that she has."

"Did she tell you this?"

"No, she didn't have to, I could sense it because she was uncertain around me and when she finally did speak honestly, she mentioned someone named Vanessa."

Jareth head snapped around and he looked at her, his eyes literally shooting fire. "Vanessa? Are you certain?"

"Yes and given my experiences, this does frighten me," Prudence said. "I mean; what if she's the same person who…" Her voice trailed and she made a motion with her hand, as if to indicate her body.

"It could be her," Jareth said. "Vanessa was very angry when I rejected and ultimately banished her. Perhaps she decided to go after Sarah anyway because she sensed that I cared for her and wanted to get back at me in any possible way. When Sarah was here the first time, Vanessa knew that I was taken by her. She was young, but very smart."

"She must have been since she bested the labyrinth," Prudence said and when Jareth offered a confirming nod, she continued speaking. "But, I don't understand what this all means."

"It means that we have to make certain that Sarah does not go back to that hospital at all," he said grimly. "Perhaps she suspects that Vanessa was using her to get back at me, but has not fully acknowledged it yet."

"If it is who we think it is, then how much power does she really have?" Prudence asked.

"Underground, she has none, but Aboveground, I would estimate that she has a great deal of influence over the people there; including Sarah's brother, and possibly her family. Prudence, the power I possess has limits, and when it comes to manipulating people aboveground, well, that transcends all Underground magic."

"I don't understand. I thought you could do anything."

Jareth took a deep breath. "I wish I could, but no matter what it is I try to do with my magic, I cannot manipulate them. Having been in both places, I can tell you that Magic can be used as a tool of persuasion, but it cannot change a person's thoughts or beliefs unless they choose for it to. When Sarah Williams said I had no power over her, she recognized this to be a universal truth. In truth, it is not always going to be about magic at all, it is merely the way things work here as well as Aboveground. It is true that our magic can do many wondrous things, but it cannot change a person's choices. It offers merely options," he said earnestly.

As these words emerged, he conjured a crystal and transformed himself into the guise of Peter Harlow. Gone were his regal robes, britches, and boots, and in their place was a lab coat, pressed shirt, slacks, and shiny black loafers.

"I hope you can help her, Jareth," she whispered as she stepped to one side. This granted him access to the room. Just as he was about to open the door, he stopped and turned back around.

"By no means will I tolerate interruptions right now. If anything comes up, I want you to handle it, Is that clear?"

"Yes, Sire," she whispered with a slight nod of her head, but watched as he entered the room and the door closed behind him.

* * *

On the other side of the door, Sarah Williams sat on the bed, her arms resting on her lap. When the door abruptly opened, she raised her head and watched as someone entered. She immediately recognized her visitor to be Peter Harlow, but instead of speaking, she lowered her head once again, thus ignoring him.

Moments passed and the door was silently closed. Wordlessly, he started to slowly walk over towards where she was sitting. Once he had sat down on the chair, he cleared his throat and spoke.

"Hello Sarah," he spoke.

In response to his greeting, she shrugged her shoulders, all the while opting to taking a vow of silence.

Jareth took a deep breath as he recalled the words Prudence had said about Sarah having been abused Aboveground. Perhaps this man whom he has taken the guise of had hurt her as well and now her silence was the only course of action that she could think of. She had always bee a bit on the rebellious side, and this seemed to prove that assertion tenfold.

Never one to give up, Jareth tried a second time initiate a dialogue. "How are you feeling?"

Another shrug of the shoulders was her only response.

"That doesn't tell me very much," he said, his voice losing some of its patience, but clasping his hands, he somehow managed to keep his temper in check.

Sarah raised her head and looked at him, her anger-filled eyes now meeting his gaze. After several seconds, she turned away, her expression clearly saying 'well, that's all you're going to get from me'.

"Your eyes can be so cruel," he mumbled somewhat under his breath as he reached inside the pocket of his lab coat and felt the letter that Toby had given to him. Perhaps coming here as Peter Harlow had been a mistake, he thought. It's clear that I need another sort of strategy.

Before he could say anything further, Sarah spoke. "W-what did you say?" The simple inquiry emerged, the words somewhat shaky, but at least they succeeded in bringing Jareth out of his contemplations.

Leaving the letter in the recesses of the pocket, he pulled his hand from it and clasped them together. Taking a deep breath he spoke. "I said 'your eyes can be so cruel'."

"Why would say that?" She asked softly.

"If it's true, then why not?" He asked plainly.

"Maybe if you had seen some of the experiences that I've had, then you might say that I was entitled to being that way."

"What sort of experiences have you had, Sarah?" He asked, his voice simple, but laced in undeniable curiosity. He could almost guess what she was going to say, and if truth be known, it tore him to pieces to see her in this state. Of course, he could fully understand it. After all, if having lived in a virtual hell locked away from the world did not make her lose hope, then nothing would.

Sarah took a deep breath as she looked at him. "You really want to know or are you just trying to get me to talk so you can decide how many pills you want to force me into taking?"

"That's not my intention at all," he began as he ran his hands through the unfamiliar hair, which now domed his head. "The truth is, I asked you this question for a reason, and it has nothing to do with pills or forcing you to do something against your will."

Sarah listened to these words, and after several moments, she took a deep breath. "When you said 'your eyes can be so cruel', you somehow reminded me of something."

"I did?" He asked.

"Yes," she said. "Why did you say those words to me?"

"Because it's what I felt when I looked at you," he said as he reached over and rested a hand on her shoulder. When her body stiffened, he lowered his hand as his next question emerged. "Who was it that told you this?"

"What makes you think someone had?" She asked stubbornly.

"You said it reminded you of something," he shot back.

"Okay fine, it was something that I had forgotten about," she said honestly. "For some reason, I remembered that someone had said this to me when I was a kid, and I guess I never forgot about it."

"Was it a friend?" He asked.

"No, not really a friend, just someone I knew," she mused as she looked over towards the wall and away from him.

"What can you tell me about this person?" He asked.

"Not very much, I don't remember too much about him, except that he could juggle and had a rather nasty sense of humor," Sarah responded. "When I got older, I started to realize that he had been sort of like a teacher to me."

"A teacher?"

"Yes," she nodded. "It wasn't the things I learned in school, but instead what he taught me was about life and living. He showed me in some ways that life was not always about fairness or rightness; it just was."

"Was there anything else that you remember?" He asked. "His name perhaps?"

Sarah thought for several minutes and then shook her head. "No, but if you hadn't have said that, I'd have completely forgotten about him. After you said that; I started to remember things about him."

"Would you want remember him?" Jareth asked. Please say 'yes', he silently added to himself.

"I don't know," Sarah whispered. She lowered her head and stared down at her lap. "I think that if he were to see me today, he'd probably say I got what I deserve."

"Why would he do that?" He asked softly. "Why would anyone?"

Sarah took a deep breath as her confession emerged. "Because, I hurt him, Doctor Harlow, and there's nothing I could do that could possibly make it up to him."

Jareth listened to Sarah's admission, his expression now laced in surprise. He did not expect her to feel remorse for what had happened nearly fifteen years before, yet she did and her eyes were now laced in pain as these words somehow hung in the stillness of the room.


	17. Chapter 16: The Pieces of the Puzzle

_My sincerest apologies for taking such a long break from this story. Now that the plot bunnies have been sorted, I hope to finish this story before I leave on holiday in June. I hope that you are able to pick up where the story left off and that you will enjoy where this is going. Many thanks for your patience regarding this story. I am more than determined to write it through to completion._

_Best wishes and happy reading,_

_Yva J._

* * *

**Chapter 16: The Pieces of the Puzzle**

Seconds after the Goblin King had entered Sarah's room and the door had been closed behind him, an out of breath goblin came running up to where Prudence was standing. "I must inform His Majesty, the boy Aboveground is trying to contact His Majesty."

"Jareth is inside and we are under strict orders not to disturb him," Prudence began, but her words were interrupted when she heard the sounds of the teenager's voice resonating throughout the corridor.

Instead of addressing the goblin further, she turned around and spotted a mirror. From within its depths, a disheveled youth was seen looking out from it. "Please, I need to speak with Jareth, the Goblin King."

Taking a deep breath, Prudence turned briefly away in order to address the goblin. "I will take care of this," she said. Once the ill smelling creature had scurried off, she approached the half cracked mirror and spoke. "Are you still in there?"

"Yeah, I'm here, but I really need to talk to Jareth," the boy insisted, his voice laced in stubborn determination.

"You are Sarah Williams' brother, correct?"

"Yeah, my name is Toby," he responded. "Who are you?"

"My name is Prudence and I am one of the Goblin King's subjects."

"You are?" The boy asked skeptically.

"Yes, he has made me this way so that I may try and help your sister," she said and taking a deep breath, she continued. "Jareth is in her room as we speak and he is doing everything in his power to reach her."

"He is?" Toby asked skeptically. "I thought he was just going to keep pretending that she was still in the loony bin."

"I beg your pardon?"

"Forget it," the boy said dismissively. "Look, I really need to talk to him, it's an emergency."

"Perhaps, but Jareth had commanded that we not disturb him," she responded. "The penalties for doing so are quite severe."

"I understand, but I still need to talk to him. It's a matter of life and death."

Prudence took a deep breath, but before she could respond, he continued. "Look, I found something today that I probably should not even have. If my mother finds out that I do have it, then she's gonna kill me."

"Really?" Prudence looked horrified.

"No, not literally," Toby responded impatiently. Never in his life did the youth think that he would ever have to explain rhetorical statements to anyone. Yet, here he was doing just that and it was exasperating, to say the least.

Taking a deep breath, he tried to redirect the focus. "Look, I have to give this information to Jareth so that he can use it to help my sister." As he spoke, he held up the pieces of paper. "Is there a way I can get these to him?"

As these words emerged, Prudence could hear the sound of a distant door opening and closing. Thinking that Jareth was coming out of Sarah's room, she turned away from the mirror for moment. When she did not see the Goblin King, she turned back around and noticed how the teenager's face had lost every trace of color.

"Toby, where are you?" Upon hearing this, the boy could feel his entire body tensing up. He inhaled slowly before looking back into the mirror, his eyes wide with fear.

"Prudence, I have to give these to you," he said emphatically. "But, we must hurry. My mother is coming…"

"…Toby!" The sounds of his mother's impatient voice emerged yet again, this time the resonances were much closer.

Without thinking of what he was doing, the desperate teenager closed his eyes and spoke under his breath. "I wish the goblins would come and take me and these papers to the Goblin King."

A bright light suddenly filled both the room as well as the corridor. When Prudence turned away from the mirror, she could see that Toby was now standing next to the mirror instead of in it. The papers he had shown her moments before were still clenched tightly in his fist. "Oh my god, it worked," the boy breathed as he released the papers and they drifted lifelessly to the ground.

Prudence nodded as she approached where the boy was standing. "Wishing yourself here was a foolish thing to do and I fear that His Majesty will be quite displeased."

"I don't care if he is," Toby snapped. "I'm not one of his minions so I could care less if he gets pissed off. You guys are all leaving me in the lurch to do your clean up duty. First Jareth and his empty promises, then I have to contend with this Peter Harlow joker, and now you're standing there scolding me like I'm a baby. I may have been a fool for coming here, but that doesn't mean that I'm going to stand here and be growled at for making a choice." As he was speaking, he leaned over and snatched up the papers before straightening out. "Let's just say that it would be suicidal if my parents even suspected that I had these papers. Right now, my mother thinks I'm totally stupid about all this, but I know why it is she's so determined to keep Sarah out of circulation and that's why I'm here."

Before Prudence could so much as offer a response, he continued speaking, his irate words releasing the bottled up anger that he still carried. "My mother had a little piece of yellow paper stuck on top of the file with these pages inside it. On the slip of paper was a phone number for one of the nurses at the hospital. My question is this: Why would my mother have the home number for Vanessa Jameson if there wasn't something fishy going on?"

This time, it was Prudence's face that lost its color. "Did you say 'Vanessa'?" She asked softly. Once the boy nodded, she continued. "Are you absolutely certain that the nurse's name is Vanessa?"

"Why would I lie about that?" Toby shot back. When no response emerged from the girl, he continued. "Look, there's a lot of stuff going on around here. I have heard names all over the place and I have dealt with people getting angry because I did something that maybe I shouldn't have done. But, if I can help my sister, then I'll take a chance and try anything." As he spoke, he extended the papers towards Prudence. "Now take these and give them to Jareth."

"What are they?"

"It's just some legal documents," Toby responded. "That's why I don't really understand why Vanessa's phone number was plastered on the top of the file. I always thought that the doctors and nurses are supposed to have some sort of professional distance from a patient's family. I know that I don't understand all this legalese, and even though Jareth might not either, there is something weird going on. The more I find out, the more afraid I get."

Prudence nodded as the door to Sarah's room opened and Jareth slowly emerged and closed the door behind him. As soon as his eyes managed to focus on the human boy and his subject in the corridor, he spoke, his voice a low growl. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Toby wished himself back here, Jareth," Prudence tried to explain. She extended the papers to the Goblin King. "He wanted me to give you these papers. He said it might help explain what happened to Sarah."

"What are they?" Jareth asked.

"It's a copy of the will left by Sarah's mother," Toby began. When Jareth's expression did not change, he tried to offer some sort of clarification. "A will is a document left by someone who has died that stipulates where their possessions should go."

"I see," the Goblin King mused.

"Yeah, but Jareth, there's a lot more to this than just the wishes of Sarah's mother. When I found the will, I also found a telephone number affixed for…"

"…Vanessa," Prudence finished for him and when the teenager nodded, she continued with the explanation. "Toby suspects that his mother may have been in contact with her."

Jareth nodded and looked at Toby, his gaze intent. "If this is the same Vanessa as Prudence seems to believe, then yes, it may very well explain a great deal about what has transpired during the past ten years."

"Would you mind cueing me in?" Toby asked.

"Vanessa used to be a part of the Underground, she was a being like me," Jareth said.

"A fae?" Toby asked.

"Correct," Jareth nodded. "Vanessa was a fae and she was in love with me."

"Why am I not surprised?" Toby responded sarcastically.

"I am being serious, Toby," the Goblin King said impatiently.

"Alright," the boy conceded. "So what happened to Vanessa? How did she end up Aboveground?"

"She was banished after she spelled Prudence and tried to bring harm to Sarah," Jareth said. "You must understand, there is a great deal of magic in this place, and in the wrong hands, that magic can be quite detrimental."

"Well, the Aboveground is a big place, are you sure that the nurse, Vanessa Jameson, is the same individual as your scorned lover?" Toby asked.

"It's her," Prudence said softly. "Sarah indicated as much when she said that Vanessa was trying to make her life difficult. When I spoke with Sarah earlier, she feared that I would break her confidence and tell Vanessa what it was she had said. I gave her my word that I would never do such a thing, but it took some quite a bit of persuasion on my part for Sarah to believe it."

"Why would anyone do this to my sister?" Toby asked.

"I believe that it was because Vanessa suspected that Jareth cared deeply for Sarah when she was here before. Perhaps revenge was what served as motivation when Vanessa went to work at the hospital. Since she could no power to do something directly to Sarah, then she opted to going about it in a different manner than she did with me."

Jareth nodded as his expression darkened.

Toby turned and looked at the Goblin King. "It would explain why it is Vanessa was on board with my mother in having Sarah locked away." He motioned towards the pages that Jareth now held. "I think if Sarah were to see the will, she would probably understand why my mother is doing all this."

"Yes, but I believe that Sarah already suspects what is happening," Jareth said as he looked at the teenager. "Are these the things you were going to look for?"

"Yes," Toby whispered.

"Thank you," Jareth said. "Now everything is much clearer."

Seconds later, Toby could hear the sounds of his mother calling his name. Nervously, he swallowed as he regarded the Goblin King. "Jareth, something is happening at home, can you send me back?"

The Goblin King nodded. "I'm going to give you two minutes so your mother doesn't see you materialize in your sister's room."

"Good plan," Toby mused. "See you around, Prudence."

With that Jareth used a crystal to send the boy back.

* * *

Two minutes after Toby had once more appeared in his sister's bedroom, the door opened and his mother came into the room. When she saw her son in the room, her expression hardened and she regarded him through angry eyes.

"What the hell do you think you are doing in here?" Lydia demanded, her voice filled with rage as she approached her son and grabbed the scruff of his shirt and began to shake him like a rag doll. "You better start explaining, young man."

Toby took a deep breath before casting a fleeting glance towards the mirror. When he saw Jareth watching them from the safety of the underground, he could feel an indescribable sense of courage suddenly building up inside of him. "I came in here to see if I could figure out why my sister has been sent to the loony bin."

"I already explained that to you," Lydia said. "We believe that Sarah is a danger to herself and it's our moral responsibility to insure that she's stays safe."

"Who's 'we'?" Toby asked. "I have a hard time believing that it's just you and Dad deciding all of this. Who else is involved? Dr. Harlow? Vanessa Jameson? Who?"

Lydia took a deep breath as anger washed over her. "Toby, your father and I have been in consultation for months with Vanessa Jameson as well as other doctors at the hospital about Sarah's case. It is not uncommon for the family to have contacts there."

"Who are you deciding things with?"

"Mostly Nurse Jameson," Lydia responded.

"A nurse?" Toby asked skeptically. "You are putting my sister's future into what a nurse says? Why not consult a doctor, or at least a specialist?" Toby asked. "For all we know, this Vanessa chick could be Nurse Ratched reincarnated."

"You've been reading too many books, Toby. This isn't One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, this is real life," Lydia said firmly. "Sarah had the same problem, that's why she had to be put away. Besides that, a nurse is just as qualified to assist in this matter as a doctor."

"Yeah, and given what I experienced with this so called doctor, you could be right," Toby said sullenly. "Since you brought it up, this Dr. Harlow showed up here demanding to know why Sarah is not in the hospital. He was throwing accusations in my face and threatening me."

"What did he say?" Lydia asked.

"What does it matter?" Toby shot back.

"It matters a lot," Lydia said. "Toby, your sister is not well."

"Yeah, and who's making her that way?" The teenager shouted. "You put me down for being interested in the welfare of my sister, you hit me when I don't say what you think is acceptable. You and Dad never told me anything about Sarah. You probably just figured that since she's not your daughter, you don't care if she's alive or dead."

Lydia's eyes widened as she raised her hand slapped him across the face. "You know better than that, Toby," she shouted.

"Why is Sarah really in the hospital, Mom?" Toby shouted. It was evident that he was completely unfazed by her actions.

"That doesn't concern you."

"Yes, it does," Toby shot back. "My sister disappeared from my life ten years ago and instead of being honest; you lied and said that she was in France. You convinced Dad that she was crazy and had her shipped off to a nut-house. Well, now, she's out and you can't do anything about it."

"How did you know she was out?" Lydia asked.

"Didn't you hear me just now?" Toby responded to her question with one of his own. "Doctor Harlow showed up and started to throw accusations around because he concluded that it was all my fault."

"Do you know where she is?" Lydia asked.

"If I did, do you think I'd tell you?" He asked. "All you'd do is go and lock her up again."

"It's for her own good, Toby."

"Oh come on, be honest," The teenager shot back. "Is it really for 'her own good' or is it for yours?" Before Lydia could respond, he continued. "I know about Sarah's mother and I know that there was a will somewhere."

Lydia looked at her son. "What makes you so certain that your father or I would know anything about that?"

"Because Sarah's mother died before she turned 18, and you and Dad probably ended up becoming the beneficiaries of whatever will there was," Toby said. "I may only be a kid, but I do know when something is not right. I also know that every time I so much as tried to say anything, you'd get mad and hit me; just like you did about two minutes ago."

Lydia looked at him. "If you know where Sarah is, you must tell me."

"Why?"

"Because, whether you like it or not, Sarah is very sick. That's why your father and I agreed that she needed professional help." Instead of speaking further, she went over to where the Escher Room photo was hanging on the wall. She took it down and turned it over as though searching for something.

Oh no, Toby thought, she knows about the letter Sarah wrote to Jareth. He glanced over at the mirror and when his eyes met Jareth's, he swallowed.

Seconds later, Lydia turned around and looked at Toby. "Where is it?"

"Where's what?" The teenager asked.

"There was a letter behind this picture, a letter that Sarah wrote to someone she called Jareth and I want it back right now."

"How can you want it back if it doesn't even belong to you?" Toby asked. "And even if she did put a letter there, who's to say that it was nothing more than a script or something related to acting? It doesn't really prove anything because I remember how she was really into acting and stuff. All that that letter shows is that she had a lot of fantasy."

Lydia took a deep breath. "This wasn't about fantasy, your sister wrote a letter to someone named Jareth and I want it returned. Everything in this room belongs to your father and me."

"No it doesn't," Toby responded. "It belongs to Sarah."

"Why are you doing this?"

The teenager took a deep breath as he regarded his mother's hostile face. "It's the right thing to do."

"The right thing to do is to respect me," Lydia snapped.

"Why?" He shot back as he tried to shield himself from her possible blows. "I was always taught to respect you, even when I didn't agree with what you were doing. Well, this time I don't agree, I don't even think you care about Sarah. You just want something that is not rightfully yours and you expect me to play along with it."

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about the money that Sarah's mother probably inherited to her," Toby said brokenly. "That's the real reason you are doing this is to stake claim to Sarah's rightful inheritance. You don't care about her, you just want her money."

Lydia took a deep breath and regarded her son. "I've heard quite enough. One day you'll have no choice but to understand what it is like to have to make adult decisions. Until that day comes, you'd better recognize where your place is and stay in it."

With that, Lydia stormed out of the room.

As soon as she was gone, Toby turned towards the mirror and looked at Jareth. "You see," he said as tears got caught beneath his eyes. "It's so obvious that she never cared."

"I can tell," Jareth said.

"Oh really?" Toby asked. "What a surprise since you're the one who's leaving me to do damage control."

Jareth took a deep breath. "You're being very selfish, aren't you?"

"If I was being selfish, then I would walk out of here and never come back. I would cease trying to fight for Sarah's freedom," Toby hissed. "If that's your definition of selfish, Jareth, then so be it."

Instead of responding to the teenager's angry words, Jareth took a deep breath. "We must do whatever we can to help Sarah remember her past. She is the key that will resolve all of this."

"How can she?" Toby asked. "You were talking earlier about making her think that she's still in the hospital."

"Perhaps that option is no longer valid," Jareth responded. "Given the information we now have, I realize that time is of the essence. We must make her remember so that if she wishes to, she may return aboveground and fight this injustice."

"You know as well as me that nobody's gonna listen, they all think she's crazy," Toby whispered. "Besides, what else can I do? It would seem that I have pretty much wrecked everything."

"You have not wrecked anything, Toby," Jareth said firmly. "It would seem that you have done everything you can and it is now up to me."

Seconds later Toby heard the sound of a woman screaming at the top of her lungs beyond where Jareth was standing. "What was that?"

"Sarah..." Jareth whispered, but as the sound of his voice faded, so too did the Goblin King's likeness disappear from within the mirror.

"Jareth," Toby cried as he recognized that the mirror now carried his own reflection.


End file.
